Along with our Christmas theme, we consider the role of the angels at the birth of Christ -- how has this been represented? What can it mean to us everyday people who dwell in the ravages of hustle and bustle? Some comfort and joy to be found, with photos and discussion, at blog.amynelsonhahn.info
To sleep
If none have hovered,
none have wavered above,
who knows the fate
who knows what would have come.
A child cries in the night --
many may have heard.
But eaves of wings may interfere
and dampen all the word
and still surround like doves;
this they'll never let from
earnest issuance.
He is guarded and assuaged
by the muffled downbeat
and the faint occipeter,
a semi-soft perimeter, --
at last he sleeps.
Copyright (c) 2011 Amy Nelson Hahn
view with images 0746 and 0745 from photos.amynelsonhahn.info or visit blog.amynelsonhahn.info
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Glory be
The tree at the Metropolitan Museum of Art spurs thought and insight as well as some beautiful photos. Images and text along with the narrative of how we absconded with the purloined photos at blog.amynelsonhahn.info
Gloria
How often do we behold
the gentle myths of old,
carved out for us plainly
and close enough for us to reach?
So delicate, they teach us
how to be careful with each other;
so painstaking in their design,
they impugn us not to be cruel.
To make us marvel is within the license
of good art, and sustains
the higher dignity
of man.
Copyright (c) 2011 Amy Nelson Hahn
view with images 0743 and 0742 from photos.amynelsonhahn.info or visit blog.amynelsonhahn.info
Gloria
How often do we behold
the gentle myths of old,
carved out for us plainly
and close enough for us to reach?
So delicate, they teach us
how to be careful with each other;
so painstaking in their design,
they impugn us not to be cruel.
To make us marvel is within the license
of good art, and sustains
the higher dignity
of man.
Copyright (c) 2011 Amy Nelson Hahn
view with images 0743 and 0742 from photos.amynelsonhahn.info or visit blog.amynelsonhahn.info
Monday, December 5, 2011
'Tis the season
And we have a reason for so many of us who dread the cold to find solace in the approach of winter: there's glory in the little things, the subtle sharpnesses and boldnesses that make the season special. Like red berries piled suddenly in the shape of a tree, like green rushes suddenly transformed by snow and ice, winter enobles even the wild of the outdoors -- think what it can do for the human best in us? Words and images at blog.amynelsonhahn.info
December, mindful
As we climb into this month,
mindful of the absence of its light,
mindful of the little days,
it is cruel to be abrupt,
cruel to be harsh in any way --
it grates against our wind-parched skin
and chastens quite unfairly.
Let us be kinder than ever before
when we are most enclosed.
The ice on the limbs along the road
should melt our seasoned tempers,
each to each, and carry
warmth to our gray souls.
We should rise about the ends
of frost-smoke tendrils
to making better worlds ahead.
Copyright (c) 2011 Amy Nelson Hahn
view with images 3065 and 3064 from photos.amynelsonhahn.info or visit blog.amynelsonhahn.info
December, mindful
As we climb into this month,
mindful of the absence of its light,
mindful of the little days,
it is cruel to be abrupt,
cruel to be harsh in any way --
it grates against our wind-parched skin
and chastens quite unfairly.
Let us be kinder than ever before
when we are most enclosed.
The ice on the limbs along the road
should melt our seasoned tempers,
each to each, and carry
warmth to our gray souls.
We should rise about the ends
of frost-smoke tendrils
to making better worlds ahead.
Copyright (c) 2011 Amy Nelson Hahn
view with images 3065 and 3064 from photos.amynelsonhahn.info or visit blog.amynelsonhahn.info
Thursday, December 1, 2011
A wild thyme in the Catskills
Evelyn Waugh once wrote that in a place we have loved we should bury a little bit of gold. It seems that in certain places that are well loved, many joyous reminders spring to life -- not just in springtime but all year round. On a visit to the Catskills home of Hudson River School painter Frederic Church, we find a scenic spot and also wild reminders of the blessings of rural life. Photos and commentary at blog.amynelsonhahn.info
Implacable
Can we meet here
in a few short years,
just to see if the place has changed?
I for one doubt very much it will.
I have nosed about these hills
for most my days now
and found them somewhat implacable,
even abrupt in their refusal
to be altered:
curiously, I would venture
that something small will still remain
of our last visit here, some
fragmentary remembrance will
catch hold and grow,
will yet salute us when we return.
Copyright (c) 2011 Amy Nelson Hahn
view with images 3135, 3129, 3134, and 3130, plus 3136, 3137 and 3138 from photos.amynelsonhahn.info or visit blog.amynelsonhahn.info
Implacable
Can we meet here
in a few short years,
just to see if the place has changed?
I for one doubt very much it will.
I have nosed about these hills
for most my days now
and found them somewhat implacable,
even abrupt in their refusal
to be altered:
curiously, I would venture
that something small will still remain
of our last visit here, some
fragmentary remembrance will
catch hold and grow,
will yet salute us when we return.
Copyright (c) 2011 Amy Nelson Hahn
view with images 3135, 3129, 3134, and 3130, plus 3136, 3137 and 3138 from photos.amynelsonhahn.info or visit blog.amynelsonhahn.info
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Core issues
We revisit a few of our favorite places -- at Olana, again -- and a few of our favorite images, but with a different twist, looking for new insights and searching for a few edges of perspective. What are our central issues? What brings us together, and possibly, what drives us apart? Look at these images -- study them -- and consider the musings alongside. blog.amynelsonhahn.info
Bones, akimbo
I cannot help
the necessity of this:
I believe in centrality,
that as beings we loosen
and loan ourselves toward
a restless core.
You must disabuse me of it,
if you can, or else learn better
how to stickle less aggressively
against it -- fight me not.
Limb yourself to my arching.
Bones grow lovely when they
shape themselves accordingly.
Never interest for the time --
it passes of its own will;
and we will sure outlast it,
stems and all.
Copyright (c) 2011 Amy Nelson Hahn
view with images 3115, 3116, 3117, and 3114 from photos.amynelsonhahn.info or visit blog.amynelsonhahn.info
Bones, akimbo
I cannot help
the necessity of this:
I believe in centrality,
that as beings we loosen
and loan ourselves toward
a restless core.
You must disabuse me of it,
if you can, or else learn better
how to stickle less aggressively
against it -- fight me not.
Limb yourself to my arching.
Bones grow lovely when they
shape themselves accordingly.
Never interest for the time --
it passes of its own will;
and we will sure outlast it,
stems and all.
Copyright (c) 2011 Amy Nelson Hahn
view with images 3115, 3116, 3117, and 3114 from photos.amynelsonhahn.info or visit blog.amynelsonhahn.info
Monday, November 28, 2011
High and mighty
A cupola above the walk attracted our attention, but once Andrew and I got a fair glimpse from this Victorian house, we were sold: amazing neighborhood, amazing stories, amazing views of the Hudson as well. Thanks to our new friend Jennifer, we got a grand tour of a gorgeous period home and show scenes from the perch. Photos and commentary at blog.amynelsonhahn.info
Hudson walk
Can you see their leeward
side from here, my soul? Can you see
their colors?
The ice is coming fast
and mist is thick
as a new dollar,
just not so bright.
If faith could walk
the ten thousand thousand
steps I've laid
between supper and this perch oh soul
he would know the berth of sleep
will never come until I've set
my careful eyes
on that stray boat.
Copyright (c) 2011 Amy Nelson Hahn
view with images 3152, 3151, 3165, and 3167 from photos.amynelsonhahn.info or visit blog.amynelsonhahn.info
Hudson walk
Can you see their leeward
side from here, my soul? Can you see
their colors?
The ice is coming fast
and mist is thick
as a new dollar,
just not so bright.
If faith could walk
the ten thousand thousand
steps I've laid
between supper and this perch oh soul
he would know the berth of sleep
will never come until I've set
my careful eyes
on that stray boat.
Copyright (c) 2011 Amy Nelson Hahn
view with images 3152, 3151, 3165, and 3167 from photos.amynelsonhahn.info or visit blog.amynelsonhahn.info
Dream another dream...
High on the Hudson, Olana mesmerizes and when Frederic Church was called away each winter, he must have felt that he was leaving his greatest love. Celebrating the majesty of the Catskills, the Hudson , and painterly beauty in photos and in words, at blog.amynelsonhahn.info
Hudson memoire
You appeared to me,
just over the rise
as in the milky glaze
of a dream half recognized
through the glaze of lace-curtain
memory skein
and long-awaiting eyes.
How could I forget you?
Outstretched and captive,
no longer remote as you once were,
I sensed the web between us
thicken and draw close,
the tide around us gather
and sustain.
Copyright (c) 2011 Amy Nelson Hahn
view with images 3081, 3083, 3085, 3086, and 3089 from photos.amynelsonhahn.info or visit blog.amynelsonhahn.info
Hudson memoire
You appeared to me,
just over the rise
as in the milky glaze
of a dream half recognized
through the glaze of lace-curtain
memory skein
and long-awaiting eyes.
How could I forget you?
Outstretched and captive,
no longer remote as you once were,
I sensed the web between us
thicken and draw close,
the tide around us gather
and sustain.
Copyright (c) 2011 Amy Nelson Hahn
view with images 3081, 3083, 3085, 3086, and 3089 from photos.amynelsonhahn.info or visit blog.amynelsonhahn.info
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