Situated so
No one could forget
Why the school exists:
The Hudson River
Far below in Gold
Glow feeding lush green
Hills cut long ago
From volcanic rock
Mountain silhouettes—
Olana today
On a sunny May Day
Flirts with Japanese
Iris and oak leaves
While tiny spiders
Visit our picnic
Like ants and artists
With open easels
And palettes of blue,
Yellow, purple, white—
We sit on twisted
Grape vine benches brown
Against Moroccan
Tiles and nature’s art,
I take notes for poems
And my companion
Sketches tree stumps cut
Close to earth as if
Its bones were showing—
I see gathering
Storm clouds carrying
Pagan gods toward
Us as if we had
Entered the primal
Imagination,
Creators of gods,
Mountains, and
The small life between.
Posted for Artistic Interpretations with Margaret - Sketchbook Poetry at Imaginary Garden with Real Toads.
Copyright © 2014 S.L.Chast
Olana by Rolf Müller (Own work) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)], via Wikimedia Commons
Wow! I have to read it again-the line about ants and artists-stunning!
ReplyDeleteYou make me think of Mary Oliver~
I have to read it again!
Your sketch is gorgeous~
I forgot to say I love that you included your mom-how sweet!
ReplyDeleteI take my daughter on my art dates~
Ooo...I love the ant portion and the smallness felt in your closing lines...between the mountains...what a glorious sketch of a precious day, Susan...thank you for sharing!! :)
ReplyDeleteThis is wonderful, Susan. You have taken the idea of a poetic sketch and worked with it, so as to bring each image to the readers eye with rich clarity. The addition of the photos adds a different dimension to the whole.
ReplyDelete"close to earth as if its bones were showing" - how wonderful. Sounds like good company and a wonderfully artistic outing! Yay!
ReplyDeleteI love the poetic journey from the mountains to tiny ants, the colors of spring and gratitude overflowing with all beautiful small things ~
ReplyDeleteBeautiful photographs & a wonderfully reflective poem, Susan!
ReplyDeleteYou sketched this very nicely, Susan. Even without the picture I can see those storms clouds coming, carrying the Pagan gods. Stormy weather will live up to its name this evening.
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What a beautiful place and your words brought it to life...I have too many favorite parts to list all of them.
ReplyDeleteit is very cool to visit such historical places.. i always wish then i could go back in time for a few hours and feel how it felt back then...and i love that you took notes for poems and that your friend sketched...ha... i would've as well...trying to capture the essence of a place as i see it at this very moment...
ReplyDeleteSusan, I loved the tree stumps as earth bones... your musings on nature, the loveliness of your mom out in the wild. There is something so special about those moments. Treasure them.
ReplyDeleteThat final picture, from Wiki? Yowza! Stunner. Good eye! Amy
The beauty and appreciation imparted with your words are as wonderful as the images.
ReplyDeleteSo beautiful, Susan.
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