One Deep Breath Anniversary
Rain dewed magnolia
Petals unfurled in the wet
The South in summer
This week marks the one year anniversary of the One Deep Breath poetry prompts, and the subject this week is "poet's choice". In the end, I felt myself torn as I tried to think about what I would submit, whether it be my most recent poem on the casualty count in Iraq, or possibly the magnolia haiku: this post, in fact.
In the end, I chose the magnolia poem because I feel that it is the better of the two. And I like the pictures... And, well, sometimes I think we need to take strength from joyful things in order to face the shadows. So I will likely edit the magnolia post to include a bit of this commentary, and possibly a link to the poem I didn't choose.
American casualties updated
And for further recent poetic activity, largely inspired by writing to the One Deep Breath prompts:
Afternoon picnic
Summer afternoon
Labels: magnolia, One Deep Breath, poetry, summer
posted by Plain Foolish | 6:08 PM
11 Comments:
Lovely. I remember living in South Carolina and Georgia and seeing those lovely trees and those lovely blossoms. Too bad they won't grow up north. Too cold. Thank you for sharing the lovely pictures.:-) Don
One of the things that surprises people who aren't from here is the intense green of our spring and early summer - and, of course, all the flowers.
This weekend, my husband and I were going to a picnic, which ended up being held indoors because of the rain. We ended up wandering around the state park a little bit, to to get some fresh air.
I carry my digital camera in my purse, and when I saw the magnolia, knew that I wanted the picture badly enough to erase some of my earlier photos that I had not yet downloaded. And I must admit I don't regret it a bit, especially after seeing how well they turned out.
Love the pictures, love the poetry! Thank you!
I spent 10 hours in the car last weekend with a woman from California. Her descriptions made me so grateful to live here, despite a lifetime filled with false-fantasies of CA being paradise. Brown, dry, hot... give me our lush, living landscape anyday! Thank you for sharing out world through your eyes!
Aside from an airplane ride to Hawaii, and a few hours in Las Vegas on the way back, I've never been more than a couple hours west of the Mississippi. Las Vegas I found frightening - I had never before been in a place that was so cut off from its natural surroundings. I think I'd like to see the Northwest coast sometime, but I don't think I'd enjoy visiting another big city in the desert.
I love magnolias. There is something surreal about such huge, heavy, sculptural blossoms.
Me, too. And the way the rain clung to the blossom to me was just sublime.
There's nothing like the South...and you are sooo true about finding our joy beyond the shadow, it makes life a little more pleasant in the simplicity of nature. Enjoy your week!!!
What a beautiful picture of the magnolia! I remember our magnolia tree growing up in PA, its beautiful flowers shedding before you really had a chance to enjoy them...
A lovely haiku for today...
Lovely choice!
Just gorgeous!
I love the thought of the magnolia being wet. I'm one of those Californians, and the only water we see in the summer is from the hose. There are magnolia trees, yes, but none as gorgeous as described.
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