¤ Harry Crosby ¤
(1898-1929)
American Poet and founder of Black Sun Press
SUN-TESTAMENT
(For W.V.R.B.)
I, The Sun, Lord of the Sky, sojourning in the Land of Sky, being of
sound mind and memory, do hereby make, publish and declare the
following to be my Last Will and Testament, hereby revoking all other
wills, codicils and testamentary dispositions by me at any time
heretofore made.
First, I hereby direct and elect that my estate shall be
administered and my will construed and regulated and the validity and
effect of the testamentary dispositions herein contained determined by
the laws of the Sky.
Second, I give and bequeath absolutely to my wife, the Moon,
four octrillion centuries of sun-rays, this legacy to have priority
over all other legacies and bequests and to be free from any and all
legacy, inheritance, transfer, successions, taxes or duties whatsoever,
said taxes or duties to be borne by my estate.
Third, I give and bequeathe the sum of one million centuries of
sun-rays net free from any and all legacy, inheritance, transfer,
succession, taxes or duties whatsoever, said taxes or duties to be
borne by my estate, to my Executors, to be used for the erecting of an
Obelisk to the Sun.
Fourth, I give and bequeathe to my beloved wife the Moon my
assortment of sunstones, my sun-yacht that for many aeons has navigated
the sea of clouds, together with my collection of butterflies which are
the souls of women caught in my golden web and my collection of red
arrows which are the souls of men caught in my golden web.
Fifth, I give and bequeathe to my sons and daughters the stars, my mirror the ocean and my caravan of mountains.
Sixth, I give and bequeathe to Aurora Goddess of the Dawn a sunrise trumpet and a girdle of clouds.
Seventh, I give and bequeathe to the planet Venus all my
eruptive prominences whether in spikes or jets or sheafs and volutes in
honor of her all-too-few transits.
Eighth, I give and bequeathe to Lady Vesuvius a sunbonnet, a palace of clouds and the heart she once hurled up to me.
Ninth, I give and bequeathe to the Sun-Goddess Rat the Lady of Heliopolis and a garden of sunflowers.
Tenth, I give and bequeathe to Icarus a sunshade and a word of introduction to the Moon.
Eleventh, I give and bequeathe to Horus (Egyptian Hor) the
falcon-headed solar divinity a thousand sun-hawks from my aviary to be
mummified in his honor.
Twelfth, I give and bequeathe to Amenophus IV of Egypt my golden gourd that his thirst for me may be assuaged.
Thirteenth, I give and bequeathe to Renofer, High Priest of the Sun, my shares in Electric Horizens and Corona Preferred.
Fourteenth, I give and bequeathe to Louis XIV of France, Le Roi Soleil, my gold peruke.
Fifteenth, I give and bequeathe to Arthur Rimbaud a red sunsail.
Sixteenth, I give and bequeathe to my charioteer Phaeton my chariot of the sun and my chariot-horses Erythous Acteon Lampos Philogeus.
Seventeenth, I give and bequeathe to each of the Virgins of the
Sun in Peru, to each and every citizen of Heliopolis, to the
Teotitmocars of Mexico who built the giant pyramid to the Sun, to each
and every of the Incas, to the Hyperboreans dwellers in the land of
perpetual sunshine and great fertility beyond the north wind, my halo,
rainbows and mirages, to the Surya-bans and the Chandra-bans of India
to each a sunthought and to my lowly subject the Earth ten centuries of
sunrays.
Eighteenth, I give and bequeathe likewise to the Japanese Flag
whose center is a Red Sun and to the flags of Persia (the Lion and the
Sun) and to the flags of Uruguay and Argentine my fiery flames and
furious commotion.
Nineteenth, I give and bequeathe to all the inns, cabarets, bars, taverns, bordels whose ensign is the Sun, pieces of brocaded sunlight.
Twentieth, I give and bequeathe sunbonnets to various high
monuments in particular the Eiffel Tower, the Woolworth Building, and
to an imaginary tower built by the combined height of the phalluses of
men.
Twenty-First, I give and bequeathe to Apollo of Greece a temple
of the sun to Osiris of Egypt a temple of the sun to Indra of India a
temple of the Sun this legacy is over and above any and all commissions
to which they may be entitled as executors.
Twenty-Second, All the rest residue and remainder of my estate
of whatsoever kind and nature, wheresoever situated, not specifically
given or bequeathed hereinabove, including any and all void or lapsed
legacies or bequests, I give, devise and bequeathe to Mithra of the
Persians and to Surya of the Hindus, or to the survivor with the
request that they establish therewith a fund for Sun-Birds (i.i. poets)
to be organized and administered by them in their sole discretion and
judgement, this fund to be known as the Sun and Moon Fund for Sun-Birds.
Twenty-Third, I hereby nominate, constitute and appoint Osiris
of Egypt Apollo of Greece and Indra of India Executors of this my last
will and testament.
In witness thereof, I have herewith set my hand and seal to this
holographic will, entirely written and dated and signed by me at my
Castle of Clouds this nineteenth day of January nineteen hundred and
twenty eight.
Signed : The Sun
Signed, sealed, published and declared by The Sun, the Testator above
named as and for his last Will and Testament in the presence of us who
at his request and in his presence and in the presence of each other
have hereunto subscribed our names as witnesses thereto.
Hu of the Druids
Ptah of the Egyptians
Vitzliputsli of the Mexicans