White-lined Sphinx Moth — Image by kenne
Interesting creature —
is it a bird, a plane or
a white-lined sphinx moth?
— kenne
Archive for the ‘Poetry’ Tag
White-lined Sphinx Moth Leave a comment
Bee On Whitestem Blazingstar Wildflower Leave a comment
Bee On Whitestem Blazingstar Wildflower (Mt. Lemmon) — Image by kenne
These first days of summer are like the pail
of blueberries that we poured out together
into the iron sink in the basement —
a brightness unleashed and spilling over
with tiny bell-shaped flowers, the windows
opened and the shrubs overwhelming the house
like the memory of a forgotten country, Nature,
with its wandering migrations and changing borders,
its thickets, woodlands, bee-humming meadows . . .
— from Summer Surprised Us by Edward Hirsch
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Things To Be Desired 1 comment
Things To Be Desired — Photo-Artistry by kenne
The poem Desiderata has shaped the lives of many and will continue to do so for years to come.
Desiderata
GO PLACIDLY amid the noise and the haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even to the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons; they are vexatious to the spirit. If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter, for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment, it is as perennial as the grass.
Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be. And whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul. With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.
By Max Ehrmann © 1927
Original text
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Salt River Canyon 3 comments
Salt River Canyon — HDR Image by kenne
She drives through the canyon
Taking each curve slowly
Controling both the car
and her nerves.
— kenne
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Nothingness 2 comments
Brother Tom at the Fish Market Window in Seattle — Photo-Artistry by kenne
Nothingness
Staring out the window
nothing comes into view,
fog drafts off the sound
It doesn’t matter
if nothing is seen,
gaze drafts afar
Even the usual seagulls
are overlooked,
even their calls
It is as if my senses
have ceased,
for the duration
Standing at the window
in my solitude,
fade into nothingness
Yet, still waiting
in my loneliness,
the vacuum to end.
— kenne
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Blue Dasher Dragonfly 4 comments
Blue Dasher Dragonfly — Image by kenne
The Dragonfly
Today I saw the dragonfly
Come from the wells where he did lie.
An inner impulse rent the veil
Of his old husk: from head to tail
Came out clear plates of sapphire mail.
He dried his wings: like gauze they grew;
Thro’ crofts and pastures wet with dew
A living flash of light he flew.
— Alfred Lord Tennyson
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Marina On The Bay Leave a comment
Marina On the Bay — Photo-Artistry by kenne
Are become unsubstantial, reduced by a wind,
A breath of pine, and the woodsong fog
By this grace dissolved in place
What is this face, less clear and clearer
The pulse in the arm, less strong and stronger —
Given or lent? more distant than stars and nearer than the eye
Whispers and small laughter between leaves and hurrying feet
Under sleep, where all the waters meet.
— from Marina by T. S. Eliot
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Mt. Lemmon Cabin 2 comments
Mt. Lemmon Turkey Run Cabin — Photo-Artistry by kenne
Cabin
There’s always an injury
when we compare one thing
to something else, the tepid moon
to its jealous sister, the viscous fog
to seven years of silence.
And any word can be a knife
when thrown with care.
We sacrifice our hearts
for the quietness of books.
A loaf of bread cooling on the counter
is a wild act of love.
Even as I dislodge every spider web
in the cabin, we will still find
something caught and dying
in the morning,
eyes glistening like dew
in the back of the fireplace
where newspapers and forests
become opportunities
for longing.
— Grant Clauser
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Here We Go Round The Prickly Pear 1 comment
Prickly Pear — Photo-Artistry by kenne
Here we go round the prickly pear
Prickly pear prickly pear
Here we go round the prickly pear
At five o’clock in the morning.
Between the idea
And the reality
Between the motion
And the act
Falls the Shadow
— from The Hollow Men by T. S. Eliot
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Clouds 1 comment
Clouds But No Monsoon, Yet — Image by kenne
I’ve looked at clouds from both sides now
From up and down and still somehow
It’s cloud illusions I recall
I really don’t know clouds at all
— Joni Mitchel
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Summer Solstice Day Leave a comment
Summer Solstice Day — Water Color Art by kenne
Children,
pouring water
over the
emerald glass
on this summer
solstice day —
pulsating
from the center
of the planet,
spinning
and blending
with the water,
generating
an intimacy
with all things.
The flowing water
doesn’t hinder
the emerald glass,
glowing
just below the surface
providing color
to the mountains;
the sound of running water
music to the heart,
realizing completeness.
— kenne
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View Off Wilderness Rocks Trail Leave a comment
View Off Wilderness Rocks Trail in the Santa Catalina Mountains (08/08/14) — Image by kenne
2
In a tangle of cliffs, I chose a place –
Bird paths, but no trails for me.
What’s beyond the yard?
White clouds clinging to vague rocks.
Now I’ve lived here – how many years –
Again and again, spring and winter pass.
Go tell families with silverware and cars
“What’s the use of all that noise and money?”
— Han-shan, Cold Mountain Poems Translated by Gary Snyder
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Jay 1 comment
Mexican Jay on Mt. Lemmon — Image by kenne
Jays are great tree planters.
by Jackie Morris
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Mt. Lemmon Is Dry! 4 comments
Mt. Lemmon Is Dry — Image by kenne
The Summer monsoon officially starts today.
However, nature didn’t get the message.
Whether in the desert valley or the mountains
the drought continues to preach the southwest.
Will this monsoon season be another nonsoom?
— kenne
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Aspen Loop One Year Out After The Big Horn Fire 5 comments
SCVN Friday hikes on Mt. Lemmon have
Begun with more excitement than usual,
Last year’s hikes being a casualty of the
Big Horn Fire and the pandemic.
Marshall Gulch Parking Area
Leaving behind morning temperatures
In the mid-eights, we gathered at Marshall Gulch
To hike the Aspen Loop, combining the Aspen
And Marshall Gulch trails for a 4.3-mile hike.
Marshall Gulch survived the fire, as did
Most of the trail. But the Aspen Trail
Wasn’t so lucky with parts that burned
From the 1993 Aspen Fire burning again.
Aspen Trail (June 15, 2015)
Over the years, I watch aspens and pines
And many other native plants return
Among the charred remains of the Aspen Fire
Only now to experience that same fate.
Last year’s fires were followed by the driest year
On record, delaying the reclamation process
And trail clearing to provide for safe hiking
On the grayest powder covering the trails.
The mountain ferns were among the plants
To return only weeks after containing the fire,
Providing hope to those grieving over the lose
Of so much beauty found on these mountain trails.
Now so exposed, the trail seems longer
Each step requiring a watchful eye
For this out of shape hiker, navigating
The loose gravel and ankle turning rocks.
Just beyond the ridge, a line of trees
Was missed by the very erratic wildfire
As if it turned on a dime, redirecting
The firefighting crew from Montana.
Soon the trail turns away from the freshly
Scared land rambling among tall ponderosas
Shadows formed by the whole clear
Cloudless sky moving across the trail.
Images by kenne
