flow my tears

The image above is a web post entire by Daniel Merlin Goodbrey on E-merl.com. His immediate reference, on October 8th, was discovery of water on the moon and the spacecraft crash into the lunar surface scheduled for the day following.

The literary reference is primarily to Philip K. Dick's Sci-Fi novel Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said. Dick's reference, for the title and dark ambience of the work, was an anonymous poem from around the 16th century used by John Dowland in his music for lute and voice, Flow my Tears.

The belief in a moon made of green cheese is ancient, fanciful, fabulous, proverbial, generically mythical and widely known.

It's also a matter of poetic expression. Take for example:

Civile Conversation

They make them believe,
according to the Proverbe,
that gloe wormes are lanterns,
and that the moon is made of greene Cheese.

-Stefano Guazzo, 1574

The Dowland is in current repertoire: Andreas Scholl does it well:


Here are the words he sings:

Flow, my tears

Flow my teares fall from your springs,
Exilde for ever: Let me morne
Where nights black bird hir sad infamy sings,
There let me live forlorne.

Downe vaine lights shine you no more,
No nights are dark enough for those
That in dispaire their last fortunes deplore,
Light doth but shame disclose.

Never may my woes be relieved,
Since pittie is fled,
And teares, and sighes, and grones
My wearie days of all joyes have deprived.

From the highest spire of contentment,
My fortune is throwne,
And feare, and griefe, and paine
For my deserts, are my hopes since hope is gone.

Hark you shadowes that in dakrnesse dwell,
Learn to contemne light,
Happy they that in hell
Feele not the worlds despite.

---

{source: wikipedia}

{John Dowland; source: last.fm}

{Andreas Scholl; source: hometheaterhifi}

{source: eons.com}

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Afterthoughts:

Andreas Scholl has a surprisingly deep speaking voice and can sing baritone as well as counter-tenor. He talks about his voice here: Great Performers 2009-2010: Andreas Scholl talks about countertenors

Daniel Merlin Goodbrey says he is a comic creator and new media lecturer based out of St Albans, England. He says, "E-merl.com is where I catalogue my experiments in fiction and the comics form. If that all sounds a little dry, don’t worry - I’m sure something horribly violent and amusing will happen if you stick around long enough."