Cupid Meets the Tiger

Another mashup this weekend is Chinese New Year’s Day on Valentine’s Day when the Year of the Tiger begins on Feb. 14. Here are the general attribute of those born as Tiger: Courageous, active, and self-assured. Optimistic, passionate and independent. Rebellious, dynamic, and unpredictable. Quick tempered but considerate. Affectionate but careless. The Tiger is a natural born leader and symbolizes power, passion and daring.

Not surprisingly, famous Tigers include Diana Rigg, Agatha Christie, Queen Elizabeth II, Marilyn Monroe, Mary Queen of Scots, and Tom Cruise.

The commemorative stamp this year features Narcissus, which appear in China in February and symbolizes hope and prosperity. To us it is a daffodil. And so I will think of Wordsworth. Last year VD for me was all about Poe, but I’m happy to be happy with Willy the Great, the guy who knew “the bliss of solitude” as he recollects a vision of beauty in tranquility. It's an idea that is comforting to consider, although the best bliss is of course, shared.


I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
and twinkle on the Milky Way,
They stretched in never-ending line
along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
in such a jocund company:
I gazed--and gazed--but little thought
what wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.

 Mapeel     2/14/2010     current events