In Pursuit of Serenity
Serenity is upon the water,
swirling, floating,
it is in trees, posturing
and amongst the leaves, content
teasingly before me.
I breath deeply, thinking
I can inhale such bliss,
but it eludes me.
My mind searches
for the key as I walk
in the shade, stretch
in the sun, listen
to the chirps, view
the colors, jog
the path, but
serenity I still only see.
And so, I lower
my camera and still
myself. Observe the
cardinals flitting about, cocking
heads, seeds cracking
between beaks, finches chased
from food scattered
upon forest floor, notice
one shy fellow, perched
in branches, high.
A dance I witness
as they swoop
and with perky feet, balance
along feeder's rim, pirouette
upon dainty toes before gliding
to lofty shrub all to a rhythmic
harmony I've faintly
only begun to hear.
Laughter and talk
break my trance,
human feet tread my way
and I'm surprised to find, that
for a few moments
serenity had been mine.
by Margaret Bednar, Art Happens 365, February 6, 2012
This is for dVerse "The Object is Poetics" hosted by Mark Kerstetter. This week's task is to focus on an object in our environment and examine it with utmost clarity, trying to capture its essence in language. I missed the linky deadline, but please follow the link for other's attempts at this challenge.
This was a hard challenge for me and I realize now I should have narrowed it down a bit more and my voice should have been the camera witnessing this scene. I think I will try this again and post it, hopefully next Tuesday at d'Verse Open Link Night. For now, this version will be linked with this week's dVerse Open Link Night"
13 comments:
A for effort, of course! If you had focused on the cardinal as if you were a camera that speaks and feels and found words that evoked the essence of what you saw and felt in the cardinal, that would have been more in the spirit of the prompt. But prompt aside, this is a really nice poem. Sometimes we don't know how tense we are until we take a walk amongst the trees or on the beach and we feel ourselves relaxing. And other times we catch ourselves by surprise and realize, 'Oh! this is a beautiful moment.'
These are wonderful photos. Cardinals are so gorgeous, but to get "candid" shots is sometimes hard. Serenity seems to arrive when we stop searching!!! Lovely post.
Yours,
Nanina
I adore this, both the photographs and the poem. For me, serenity only takes me by surprise, it is not something I can really summon. Too much Gemini nerves, I think. But like you've said here, once in a while, I suddenly realize I have it, in that moment.
"perky feet"! They DO have perky feet, don't they?
And the light in that shot of the bird on the water is just amazing, Margaret.
Wow. Beautiful work. I loved the poem. For me, it was clear and detailed enough. And the photographs are astounding as well. Good job!
Oh YES!!!!! You have so captured all of this - and the realization of how serenity snuck up on you......so cool!You are so lucky to have red cardinals - your photos are AMAZING. We have blue jays here - and cute little darting junkos. We go through an outdoor sized garbage can of seed every other week...........
Not being part of the prompt group I don't know whether you've captured the exact demands made by it. But you have most certainly captured what 'serenity' means, that fleeting moment of utter peace.
The poem has certainly answered my needs.
Margaret, I absolutely love both the photographs and the poem, and what a FANTASTIC blog header this cardinal makes! How fortunate you were to be able to capture it, and to do so, so beautifully.
Thank you so very much for sharing with us this week at The Creative Exchange.
Have a wonderful day!
lisa.
That first cardinal shot is stunning. Visiting from The Creative Exchange linkup.
Beautiful post.
Regards and best wishes
Love the shot of the Cardinal at the feeder.
There is such a peaceful feel to this...
Such a lovely series of photos! I love that first one especially for it's peaceful feeling, but the cardinals are so vibrant that it's hard not to favorite them. :)
Love the first photo.
Kelly
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