First Whispers of Spring

Survivor of the frost of winter
One who had the wilderness
For a pillow
Come spring a great singer

On tiny wings
Over branches, brambles & bushes
Tilts his head & begins to sing
The first whispers of spring

Blue sky sailing 

& green grass cities

Teaming with dragon flies,

Snakes & creepy crawly things.

Epilogue
& Thankful most of all
for God’s promise of spring.

Fin

Friday flash 55

Many birds 

 lost 

theirs lives in this last harsh winter 

across most of Europe & USA

photo's :  2nd ffffound, 3rd tumblr,  6th ffffound,  7th frozen bird UK Google

Cosmic Kismet

The winding black crack

 
Rising out of cosmic dust
 

Set flame with new stars 

Fin 

 

One Shot Wednesday week #42

Recently, astronomers using NASA’s Spitzer

infrared telescope shooting 

  a “funny cosmic black crack” photo

at a distance of 11,000 light years from 

Earth in the constellation Sagittarius.
The serpentine“black crack” is

formed by dust in the universe,

but this meandering “black crack” covers 

as large as dozens of the solar system. 

Not only that, It is very likely pregnant 

with new stars in the cracks.

We can see from the photos, 

orange and yellow spots in those cracks

which will be forming new stars. 

The spots will launch red light star embryos,

its mass will be approximately about 20 to 50 times the sun.

photo credits: NASA Goolge

Nouvelle 55 -Friday Flash 55

Lady of the Lake

dwells in the vast, 

cool fragrant rooms 

of a translucent palace

Surrounded by earthy

and watery companions’

leaves her robe behind

and goes swimming

in the well of inspiration;

bringing the light of spring

to the dark of winter

her reflection shimmers

in every leaf and lingers 

on every cool breeze.

Fin

 nouvelle 55 
Friday Flash 
hosted by Galen
Friday flash is a mime written in 55 words and Nouvelle 55 is writing about a painting. 
my poem is based on  the first (photo) Painting of Jane Morris (1839-1914),
by Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828-1882)
Rossetti captures Jane’s beauty as well as her character; she was,
according to contemporary accounts,
an unusually silent woman.


In the 1860s, while painting his first pictures of single female figures, Rossetti fell under the spell of Titian, Palma Vecchio, and the great Venetian masters of voluptuous female flesh. His brushstrokes broadened, replacing what he had described as the “stipple in the flesh” of his earlier, painstakingly detailed Pre-Raphaelite compositions. His head-and-shoulders portraits sold well, and by 1870 he was devoting himself almost entirely to representations of the ideal woman, often in the form of Jane Morris. Rossetti’s later works were embraced by the Symbolist painters, who shared his interest in painting dreamy, introspective women lost in silent meditation and mystical inwardness.

Lady of the Lake

dwells in the vast, 

cool fragrant rooms 

of a translucent palace

Surrounded by earthy

and watery companions’

leaves her robe behind

her reflection shimmers

in every leaf and lingers 

on every cool breeze.

Fin

photo credits: Painting of Jane Morris (1839-1914), by Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828-1882):;

2 & 3rd Rodney Smith;tumblr

 

The Artist Muse

The Lady of the Willows

imbued with sensuality 

wild and mysterious 

as the moonlit groves 

of an ancient forest 

in wordless rapture 

basks in unity

with nature. 

Fin 

challenge in 160 text characters 

Sunday 160

Black chalk on paper, dated 1865, 31.5 x 34.5cm, Private collection

'Water Willow', of Jane Morris (1839-1914), by Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828-1882)
O il on canvas, dated 1871, 33 x 26.7cm, Delaware Art Museum, Samuel and Mary R Bancroft Memorial, 1935.  This painting documents the first period Rossetti and Jane Morris spent together at Kelmscott Manor in Oxfordshire. Rossetti made it to fit a beautiful old frame.

Jane Burden Morris (1839-1914), inspired numerous works by Rossetti and his friends, among them the painter-poet William Morris whom she would marry in 1859. Jane was a remarkable beauty, destined to play a major role in Rossetti’s idealized and symbolic portraits of “stunners”—beautiful women shown at close range in often exotic settings. 

 

 Pencil on paper, dated 1857, 47.6 x 33cm,
The Society of Antiquaries of London (Kelmscott Manor) 

 

In 1869, the American writer Henry James described her as having “a thin pale face, a pair of strange, sad, deep, dark Swinburnish eyes [a reference to the poems of the late Victorian writer Algernon Charles Swinburne], with great thick black oblique brows, joined in the middle and tucking themselves away under her hair.” Jane, the daughter of a humble stableman, was discovered by Rossetti and Edward Burne-Jones in an Oxford theater. Thanks to her captivating looks, she was spared a life of poverty and a future in domestic service. Through Morris she was educated privately, mastering French and Italian as well as the piano.

Pencil on paper, dated Aug. 12 1870, 24.1 x 45.1cm, 
The Society of Antiquaries of London (Kelmscott Manor)

Capricious Love ---

 

Two hearts get entangled
At Café  De Flore

Enchanting in an understated way

 Small acts of friendly mischief.
                  Engaging in an innocently
                              Flirtatious way

Slyly charismatic

                 The lust of eyes 

                                     in stolen glances

Affectionately unpredictable 

The passing of love

Like last summer’s sun

gone to quickly

Blown away
By the  wind of change

FIN

Friday Flash 55

hosted by G-man

 The Café de Flore, at the corner of the Boulevard Saint-Germain and the Rue St. Benoit, in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, has long been celebrated for its intellectual clientele.

The classic Art Deco interior of all red seating, mahogany and mirrors has changed little since World War II. Like its celebrated rival, Les Deux Magots, it has hosted most of the French intellectuals during the post-war years. It is said that Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir, Camus & other writer, poets, & artists, would meet here and discuss their philosophy of existentialism over a drink.

written in 55 words by joanny

Capricious love ---
Two hearts get entangled
At Cafe De Flore
Enchanting
in an understated way
Small acts of friendly mischief.
Engaging in an innocently
Flirtatious way
Slyly charismatic
The lust of eyes
in stolen glances
Affectionately unpredictable
The passing of love
Like last summer’s sun
gone to quickly
Blown away
By the wind of change
FIN
 

photos tumblr & rodney smith 3-6

East of the Sun-West of the Moon

A sudden rain shower

Makes the streets look
like mirrored strips

glittering in
the dawning sky

it takes your
breath away

just to start
the day.

Fin

Sunday 160 

poem written in 160 text form 

for rules to play click on Sunday 160

East of the sun,
West of the moon
A sudden rain shower
Makes the streets look
like mirrored strips
glittering in
the dawning sky
it takes your
breath away
just to start
the day.
fin

for the month of April join in and with other bloggers fighting world food hungry

please feel free to take this blog button below and be sure to go and thank Anne over at 

annechovie

photos tumblr

Art of the Bath*The ofuro (お風呂)

A place of quiet - a private world, 

where you can gently put aside 

 the demands of the busy day

 As you immerse yourself sinking deep into the
luxurious warm waters filled with fragrant herbs

&
 lotus petals floating in a tranquil tub

allow yourself to drift,

into the wonderful languorous,

sensation of suspended animation

that occurs as you close your eyes

 & 

inhale the deep rich aromas  

heightening  your senses

  in this hour of calm and stillness 

that allows you entrance to the fabled land

of floating flowers and oriental opulence.

Surrender to your inner most fantasies 

&

inhale deeply the sweet scent of spring.

The ofuro (お風呂), or Japanese bath, is an integral part of Japanese life.  The significance of the bath goes far beyond merely washing. For generations the sentō (銭湯) or "bath house" was a focal point in residential areas and a gathering place not just for bathing but for chatting, meeting friends, and generally feeling connected to others in the neighborhood. Today there are fewer sentō as all modern homes have a private bath, but the significance of the bathing ritual — whether at home, visiting an onsen, or at the local sentō — runs deep in the Japanese approach to life, which traditionally is closely tied to nature.

photo's 1st apartment therapy;3rd .bartokdesign.com 5 & 6 Zena Holloway;7 .bartokdesign.com; 8 Voque Nippo-Yoyons_Voir; 9 & 10 ffffound, 11-Zena Holloway

HOPE!

 The Breath of cherry blossoms is carried along the wind 

I feel the coming of spring from the warm breeze,

while in the garden a windsock drips fog. 

Tenderly placing the kettle on the fire,

I sit down to rest and watch the steam rising, 

it fills the room gently with a warm mist.

Pretty purple flowers are arranged in the tokonoma

Woody incense cleanses the air 

while my mind roams through ancient realms,

  Absurdly moved, my life passes before me like a dream,

from my vantage point of a familiar place, 

the hills have hugged this shore for centuries

they never looked more lovelier then they did in that moment,

Overhead birds are unsettled in the trees, 

 feeling a sense of awe and anxiety  

water swells around the island and I try to be strong,

 

The smell of gyokuro tea, white rice, bamboo, and pine boards 

swirls about and engulfs me.

 

 All those years of work are erased in one moment,

it is beyond my wisdom why, 

the inherent exuberance of nature is to spill and squander

altering the old to the new,

 But where there is life there is hope, 

”even from the cliffs of despair”.

Sayonara

The Breath of cherry blossoms
is carried along the wind
I feel the coming of spring
from the warm breeze,
while a windsock drips fog.

Tenderly placing the kettle on the fire,
I sit down to rest and watch the steam rising,
it fills the room gently with a warm mist.
Pretty purple flowers are arranged in the tokonoma

Woody incense cleanses the air
while my mind roams through ancient realms,
absurdly moved, my life passes before me like a dream,
from my vantage point of a familiar place,
the hills have hugged this shore for centuries
they never looked more lovelier
then they did in that moment,
and will never look the same again.

Overhead birds are unsettled in the trees,
feeling a sense of awe and anxiety
water swells around the island and I try to be strong,
the smell of gyokuro tea, white rice, bamboo,
and pine boards swirls about and engulfs me.

All those years of work are erased in one moment,
it is beyond my wisdom why, 

the inherent exuberance of nature is to spill and squander 

altering the old to the new, but where there is life there is hope,
”even from the cliffs of despair”.
Sayonara

Japan is a special place and  my heart breaks for them now as they are in need,

 as do so many other nations affected by the recent quake.

Let's give them the love and support if you can. 

Listed below are a few places you can donate.to.

   

    * To donate to American Red Cross Relief, text REDCROSS to 90999
  
    * To donate to GlobalGiving, which focuses on “grassroots projects in the developing world,” text JAPAN to 5055
    * To donate to The Salvation Army, text JAPAN or QUAKE to 80888

    * Human Society International
http://www.hsi.org/news/news/2011/03/japan_aid_plan_031411.html

 Websites that are officially connected with the help for Japan:
      * Oxfam America - www.oxfamamerica.org

      * World Vision- www.worldvision.org

      * Catholic Relief Services - http://crs.org

 Every $1.00  help's  and that is what they need.

photo credits: 1st photo Japanese woman -Madame Butterfly; 4th woman in water-Yanire Smashing Magazine, 7th  woman in water Hatcher Smashing Magazine; 10th Woman with Red butterfly -Madame Butterfly; last photo, tumblr,  Willamette River, Portland Oregon, Sail Boat Willamette River, all others Japanese Tea house. quote from Anne M. Lindberg.