March 26, 2019
“Walking-Sticks” and a Pelican
“Walking-Sticks and Paperweights and Watermarks”
And making the envelope secure, the sealed
wax reveals a pelican
studying affectionately
the nest’s three-in-one upturned tri-
form face.”For those we love, live and die”
the motto reads.
Pendant from Wax Seal with Motto: “For Those We Love, Live and Die”
Moore first published this poem in Poetry 49 (November 1936): 59-64 and reprinted it with modifications in What Are Years. Curious to know what Moore was describing, I searched the Internet for the quoted words from a seal with a pelican and found a contemporary artist, Shannon Westmeyer, who referred to one. Ms. Westmeyer replied that she had made a pendant from just such a Victorian era wax seal. She sent a photograph and permission to publish it. The seal itself would have been carved in the negative but this image is what it would have produced on a letter.
In heraldry, the pelican represents the parent who would sacrifice herself to save her young, typically a Christian symbol.
No comments yet.
RSS feed for comments on this post.
Marianne Moore: Poetry 
Leave a comment