Out Of The Lake
Reluctantly we leave
—water dripping from
hands and chin, sand
coating our feet
Grindelwald, Switzerland: In Photos
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Right now the side of his face rests against my belly, skin to skin, his warmth magnified by mine. It is a wonder, an absolute awe-filled thing, that just days ago he was on the other side of me, tucked away and unseeable, a secret. Elliot. Elliot with the head full of hair. Elliot with the fifty-eight eyelashes. Elliot with the rounded nose that dips into rounded cheeks that slope to the tiny chin that quivers when he cries, lifts when he smiles in his sleep. A landscape. Elliot. Tiny boy so like and unlike all the other boys who have been born before. So like and unlike whatever small person I imagined my own son to be. Perfection is a rare if not impossible thing, but how could he not be, right now, so young, so soft, exactly as he is here, breathing in and out, making the sounds that all mothers and fathers know as first-speak. Secrets. He is revealing them to me, unspooling them by the minute, by the number of his sighs, and they tangle around my legs and body until I am war
Strasbourg, France: In Photos
Love the serenity in this photograph, Emily.
ReplyDeleteLake Shetek, Minnesota. A favorite place.
DeleteSource of the Des Moines River.
DeleteReally? How have all these years passed without me knowing this? Thanks for that fact, David!
DeleteI love the notion of "reluctance". It has an almost mystical quality to it, a pure want, when want is somehow not possible or appropriate. The photo connected well to the words. Nice!
ReplyDeleteThat's a beautiful way to describe the word, Bill. I think I fully learned what it meant when I was in fifth grade, and I remember loving even the sound of it. It, and the end of summer, both have the air of the mystical about them, don't you think?
DeleteI imagine the end of summer in Minnesota is a monumental event. With the stout winters you have summer must seem pretty darned short. And, yes, I can imagine the reluctance one might have at the end of a Minnesota summer. Still, we anticipate winter with a little glee, don't we?
DeleteI suppose that's true! Especially after a winter like we just had...a few inches of snow at most, temperate weather... When that first blizzard comes, I will be out in it, pregnant or not! :)
DeleteLooks like liquid gold!
ReplyDeleteAnd even more valuable. :)
DeleteExcellent, poetic tribute to the end of summer. Already I've seen trees with leaves that are blazing red. I want to shout, "Are you kidding? This is only August."
ReplyDeleteI know! We have a few trees like that around us, too. They are so beautiful, but turn slowly, turn slowly, dear friends!
Deletei love this. reminds me that i need to write more poetry. such a nice end-of-summer-feeling.
ReplyDeleteI feel that way whenever I some how slow down enough to write it. A few words really are enough some times, aren't they?
DeleteEmily:
ReplyDeleteAaahhh... I know the feeling. I feel your knowing. How did you capture that with so few words?
Richard
I closed my eyes, and remembered being seven (and twelve and fifteen and twenty-six and thirty...). :)
DeleteThank you for your comment on 'time for being' and for your kindness in stopping to leave a few words.
ReplyDeleteI love the colours in the photograph and the beautiful simplicity and attention to detail in your words.
Thanks, Marfio. This photograph captures a special place and time for me, so I feel that simplicity, too. Happy you stopped over!
DeleteAh, the tender ache of saying goodbye to summer. Thanks for capturing it.
ReplyDeleteThanks for understanding.
DeleteThe quality of the light here is really lovely. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteIt's an old-timey photo, actually. Film!
DeleteThis is stunning! Wow, such amazing lighting!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Tamar! A special time of day.
DeleteThe colors are amazing. Gorgeous picture!
ReplyDeleteGlad you like it. Thanks for stopping by and commenting, Kelly!
DeleteSweet. Peaceful. Inviting.
ReplyDeleteAll words that could be added to the verses above.
DeletePoignant and peaceful. Your heart is in your photography. What a beautiful blog!
ReplyDeleteWhat a nice comment. I think that is especially true when we photograph places that are a part of our past. You, too?
DeleteI would love to just pull up a chair, take a good book and a bottle of wine and just sit there for awhile, and maybe fall asleep.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a tempting activity for me this weekend! (minus the wine. :)
DeleteI would leave reluctantly too. That is a beautiful photograph and lovely poem to match it.
ReplyDeleteThank you. For me, it's one of those photographs you can just look at for a while, letting the peace and quiet fill you up.
DeleteYour words apply so well in another context, too. I see your beautiful photo and feel the end of your summer, but here we have full summer yet, and the spectre of residents being pulled - reluctantly - from the homes that Hurricane Isaac has destroyed. They are dripping water, too, and coated with sand - even as the waters of the bayous roil against the levees that are their only fragile defense.
ReplyDeleteBut the poem works there, too.
That adds an entirely new, heavier meaning to the verses, Linda, but I understand exactly why you would be pulled there. Such hardship for those bayous and water-logged elsewheres. Sending you blessings.
DeleteJust magical!
ReplyDeleteSometimes I think sunrise and sunset are magical, no matter where that type of light falls.
DeleteWow, what a beautiful picture. God's country!!
ReplyDeleteIndeed!
DeleteBeautiful shot at the lake.
ReplyDeleteThank you! Aren't lakes just wonderful?
DeletePretty!
ReplyDelete:)
DeletePerfect. A perfect farewell to summer...
ReplyDeleteBeginnings and endings, all in one. Bittersweet.
DeleteI love lakes (we are staying on one here in Oregon)....and your sepia picture is remarkable. (I'm not ready to say goodbye to summer, but the beauty of this picture helps me get ready to adjust!)
ReplyDeleteIf only those of us in the north, at least, would never have to say a complete goodbye to summer... Hopefully photos like this will get us through the true below zeros. Hope you had a great weekend in Oregon, Sallie!
DeleteBeautiful Pic , and your words describes it perfectly.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by and leaving the lovely comment.
Glad to come over your space.
Have a nice weekend. enjoy!
You as well, Vivek. Labor Day weekend was a pleasure, as always. So much to do, but also an extra day to find some time to relax and soak up the warm weather. Love that.
Deletereally beautiful. x
ReplyDelete