Bark, no bite

An old decaying tree at Ramapo Reservation teaches us a springtime lesson about renewal -- and about poetics. What do we find in such images that makes them turn our hearts around this time of year? More news about the end of winter, in words and images, at blog.amynelsonhahn.info -- keep clicking those ads, folks!

Broken tree

Casting your stark
and shuddering shadow
in the still-wintry expanse,
no ember of life sighs
from the ruddy cavils and divides
thinly sheltering what is left.
But buried in the ticking wood,
far beneath your knots and vines,
range ponderous armies
who are working all this time
at carving and reshaping you
in a more earthward design;
so is old life cleared away
and saplings take your place.
Copyright (c) 2012 Amy Nelson Hahn

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Dog tales

Once again a trip to the doggie park yields some fabulous photos and interesting stories -- we're willing to share. But what about the relationship between dog and man? It's a bit complex and we're also willing to explore. More at blog.amynelsonhahn.info

Dog days

It is in their nature
for four legs to turn
the two of ours to speed --
pacing after them haphazardly,
but we oblige them endlessly,
their dogged partners,
paw to heart --
nothing makes us start
the day the same way.
If we could count on random
calculations just as we trust dogs --
oh, how the mechanism broke,
how the fixture caught
just a bit too long.
Copyright (c) 2012 Amy Nelson Hahn

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Moo-town

What can a bunch of Hereford cows teach us about the world? Maybe a little; maybe a lot. But it sure is relaxing to see them as we pass by their paddock in Valatie, NY. The pleasures of the pastoral place are not lost on us -- more words and images, at blog.amynelsonhahn.info. And thanks for clicking those ads, people.

Cow college

There is a certain dance --
it is far from agile, far from fragile.
But one could easily say
it is nimble, even
graceful for a lack
of better words --
cows edge their morning way
across a frosted field,
cropping what leaves they find,
saving some for other times,
their hides as red
as the barnstead nigh behind,
their faces like new suns --
broad and flaxen,
bowing and canting
with an eye to the sky.
Nothing errs in their world,
there is nothing imperfect,
saving a touch of the damp,
which light alone can overthrow.
Copyright (c) 2012 Amy Nelson Hahn

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Snowbird

Andrew is back behind the lens, and he treats us to amazing visions of owls and redbirds in a winter wonderland -- I immediately think of Anne Murray's "Snowbird" and feel the need to reflect. More words and images, discussion of the lack of outdoor snow, at blog.amynelsonhahn.info

Snow scenario

Cut out
like shapes of lace
across the silent face of white
they glisten -- snowdrops,
each a tiny labyrinth,
a frosty miracle --
against which silently more still
the turning mesh of whiter cowl,
deftly dappled, the shrieking eyes
gone silent, ever more silent,
aloft one owl;
and only the redbird makes a sound
and his only sound
is red.
Copyright (c) 2012 Amy Nelson Hahn

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Cups & cakes

It's almost Valentine's Day, and as usual, red gets most of the love -- but what about that cutest-of-all-colors, pink? A perusal of one Saratoga Springs shop window proves that pink holds special sway as well...words and images, at blog.amynelsonhahn.info -- don't forget! click the ads, friends!

In the pink

Whyever should red
get its own holiday?
Today is just as much
for admixtures --
and the pink of a doll's cheek
or of a bunny's ear
just equals unamounted cheer;
love is earlier to rose
than it is to tawny,
and therefore even children
slightly flushed in the temples
can help to celebrate its glory --
with candied celebrations
made of pastel words on palms:
will you be mine?
each sweet success dissolves,
dissolves its likeness in no more
than its own time.

Copyright (c) 2012 Amy Nelson Hahn

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Love is red

A near-fatal heart attack landed Andrew in the hospital this week, just before Valentine's Day, so we consider this "red-letter day" and what it means to take good, loving care of your heart health. Special wishes to our readers and viewers, at blog.amynelsonhahn.info

Red-letter Day

.

What do I need more to do

than to gather colors to your heart

and grow within them chambers

that will echo in the dark

so so far away

from all the lonely feelings

we left so far behind –

antiquated, much frustrated,

lost, outdated –

not any of that needs to be said,

especially not today

when birds and bees

and hearts and flowers rule

when love prevails –

another red-letter day,

so near that you can almost

touch it, so close to me that

I can almost

touch you,

just as I imagined.

Copyright (c) 2012 Amy Nelson Hahn

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Glitter and paint

Some glamorous photos by guest artist John Ianacone feature a carousel and carnival scenes at night -- what do these images conjure in our imaginations? Do we connect them to childhood pleasures or to darker thoughts, perhaps the scenes of a scary film noir classic? More reflections on word and image, at blog.amynelsonhahn.info -- keep clicking those ads, people! THX

Calliope
(for JI)

So little seems left
to ease these staggering hooves
backwards into a dream
nestled on a childhood mantle --
at night they are wild,
and their bitten mouths
champ in a rage
charging across their patterned stage,
as if with their wooden breaths
they would put out every light.
Sultry notes mar their stride,
they falter out of cadence,
break and flicker
and so ends their ride.
Copyright (c) 2012 Amy Nelson Hahn

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Signs of the times

Guest artist/photographer Paula Carino (of Paula Carino and the Markov Chains) shows us some thought-teasing visuals from the streets of NYC, plus a train trip to New Jersey -- plus a discussion of the meaning of signs in our lives, from Holzer to Baldessari. Keep clicking those ads, people! -- we reached 2000 readers/viewers last post! Our sincere thanks, and keep the blog rolling --blog.amynelsonhahn.info...

Reliquary
(for PC)

To see a heaven
in a sheet of glass
and impermeability
in the sounds of color --
this is the system
that bows and glows
its shards upon
the dismembered towers
of our disempowered shells,
so carefully slivered by
the wayside yet never quite alone.
And how do we expunge,
at the cost of a weariness,
the toll of a shy encounter
with the fated loss we hoped
by looking steadfastly past it
most to evade?
Copyright (c) 2012 Amy Nelson Hahn

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Mise en scene

You are about to be transported to the State fair, circa summer, circa a ferris wheel and other rides. Like the idea? Why not. It's almost Groundhog's Day, when all is topsy-turvy and the world gets to take a break from the obvious. Why can't we have summer in winter if we like? It's a perfectly cinematic prerogative. Enjoy the views and commentaries, at blog.amynelsonhahn.info

Fair ground -- revisited

In the pall of winter
we look to candy colors
of our summer fair with
hungering despite --
how can it seem so far away,
the spun sugar and licorice
spokes flying high like trapezes
seeming so many miles
from the February of our mind's eyes,
and it is hard to wait --
as it is for a child in line,
hoping to clamber high in the sky,
or to whirl fast
as the day spins past
and the lights dim for only a time.
Copyright (c) 2012 Amy Nelson Hahn

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