Indian warfare

Erastus Dow Palmer created a marble sculpture of an Indian princess in 1856 -- her hand outstretched, holding a crucifix, symbolic of her acceptance of the Christian world. He titled it, "The Dawn of Christianity." What do we think about such images today? Have Native Americans changed the way we look at this kind of art? More thoughts on these words and images from the Albany Institute of History and Art, at blog.amynelsonhahn.info

Forlorn

Was it your fate
indeed to look so modestly,
flung with deerskin drape
your princess' shape all but
shriving fools who told you,
look on this -- and learn --
when all around you nature burned
with wisdom purely and conspired
to teach you better?
How could you not have wondered --
is this a dagger I see,
a jewel? What matter
of metal, what art?
Copyright (c) 2012 Amy Nelson Hahn

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Toy story

What do the toys we give to our children tell us about ourselves? As women and men? As builders of our childrens' dreams for the future? These are the kinds of things we think about as we discuss images from a wonderful interactive exhibit at the Albany Institute Of History and Art called "Kid Stuff", displaying popular toys from the last hundred years. Words, photos, and thoughts, at blog.amynelsonhahn.info

At play

It seems an easy enough idea
at first --
as they say, a stick and hoop,
a spring and loop,
anything will amuse --
but somehow along the way
we grownups build a picture
of our lesser selves
as we utmost wish to be.
Sometimes it's safer when
the minds of children
make the rules, and everyone
can fuse a new dream,
and fuel it with such love.
Copyright (c) 2012 Amy Nelson Hahn

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Whose woods indeed

Stumbled upon during a recent outing in the snow: a stack of lovely logs, with annular rings emanating, just prior to being placed in the fire. What warms our hearts the most? A winter fire? Or the thought of ancient trees, their majesty and grace purveying over centuries? Words and images, with a little help from Robert Frost, at blog.amynelsonhahn.info  Keep clicking those ads, folkses!

Woods -- remembering

The rage of the grain
could not dissemble,
and stretched itself
in an open grin
of warning to those who
dwelt within and passed
their days in vain --
like hands upon a massive
inward dial,
the circles were evoked
and heaped up, stroke
upon blasted stroke
until none cried out,
none wept in the wind
and all could simply
remember.
Copyright (c) 2012 Amy Nelson Hahn

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Snow bunnies

You can take the snow out of the winter but you just can't take the snow out of the spring...or something like that. At any rate, here it is, March, and the month of Easter, and we have inches of the white stuff. Oh, well. It sure is pretty. Photos, haiku, and commentary, all at blog.amynelsonhahn.info

Snow in march

Puffed and placed
tenuously
like peaceful time bombs,
perched between the throngs
of latticed branchlings,
shivered snowdrops long
and linger momentarily,
melting in suspension --
a vision of transition,
gently blurring the lines
between harshest ice
and warmest sun.
They cling for now, escape,
and are reborn as flowers.
Copyright (c) 2012 Amy Nelson Hahn

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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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