“You jumped like a frog.
You touched like a dog.
You kissed like a bird.”
Santosh Kalwar, An Aphrodisiac
Nature
“Take a course in good water and air; and in the eternal youth of Nature you may renew your own.
Go quietly, alone; no harm will befall you.” — John Muir
“Nature” Is What We See
by Emily Dickinson
“Nature” is what we see—
The Hill—the Afternoon—
Squirrel—Eclipse— the Bumble bee—
Nay—Nature is Heaven—
Nature is what we hear—
The Bobolink—the Sea—
Thunder—the Cricket—
Nay—Nature is Harmony—
Nature is what we know—
Yet have no art to say—
So impotent Our Wisdom is
To her Simplicity.
Sculpture – Contemporaries – Overland Park Arboretum and Botanical Gardens
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.
Mary Oliver
Song of the Old Mother
William Butler Yeats
I rise in the dawn, and I kneel and blow
Till the seed of the fire flicker and glow;
And then I must scrub and bake and sweep
Till stars are beginning to blink and peep;
And the young lie long and dream in their bed
Of the matching of ribbons for bosom and head,
And their days go over in idleness,
And they sigh if the wind but lift a tress:
While I must work because I am old,
And the seed of the fire gets feeble and cold.
Demain dès l’aube
Victor Hugo
Demain, dès l’aube, à l’heure où blanchit la campagne,
Tomorrow, at dawn, in the hour when the countryside becomes white,
Je partirai. Vois-tu, je sais que tu m’attends.
I will leave. You see, I know that you are waiting for me.
J’irai par la forêt, j’irai par la montagne.
I will go by the forest, I will go by the mountain.
Je ne puis demeurer loin de toi plus longtemps.
I cannot stay far from you any longer.
Je marcherai les yeux fixés sur mes pensées,
I will walk the eyes fixed on my thoughts,
Sans rien voir au dehors, sans entendre aucun bruit,
Without seeing anything outside, nor hearing any noise,
Seul, inconnu, le dos courbé, les mains croisées,
Alone, unknown, the back curved, the hands crossed,
Triste, et le jour pour moi sera comme la nuit.
Sad, and the day for me will be like the night.
Je ne regarderai ni l’or du soir qui tombe,
I will not look at the gold of the evening which falls,
Ni les voiles au loin descendant vers Harfleur,
Nor the faraway sails descending towards Harfleur.
Et quand j’arriverai, je mettrai sur ta tombe
And when I arrive, I will put on your tomb
Un bouquet de houx vert et de bruyère en fleur.
A green bouquet of holly and flowering heather.
“Arise from sleep, old cat,
And with great yawns and stretchings…
Amble out for love”
― Kobayashi Issa
“Partial culture runs to the ornate, extreme culture to simplicity.” — Christian Nestell Bovee
Maverick Mist 