Friday, January 23, 2009

Shadows on the Snow



Where do you find your solace, boy?
Sweet love has withered, joy is old.
The shadows on the snow are long.
How do you patch your mangled soul?
The dark is close, the wounds are cold.

Where do you find your solace, boy?


22 comments:

moonrat said...

very nice

the walking man said...

My comfort is found in
the land of no bounds,
the place of
birthing eternal soul,
the land of no snow
nor desert heat.
Today is yesterday
to tomorrow
where promised
solace is complete.

Catherine Vibert said...

There is something so wonderful about shadows on snow. I love that snow is actually pink and blue in sunlight, and the shadows are blue. Blue like someone who has no solace. Lovely poem Vesper.

Unknown said...

Gorgeous words, Vesper and I love the photos, so incredibly evocative - particularly the shadowy gates.
xxx

Anonymous said...

You poetry is so penetrating. It grabs your heart and squeezes. Excellent, Vesper. :)

Marilyn Brant said...

Lovely, as always, and the photos...esp. that top one...are equally haunting.

Charles Gramlich said...

I love the soft starkness of the shadows on snow.

Karen said...

The shadows on the snow, cold wounds, old joy - no solace here, Vesper, just a beautiful rendering of loss.

Geraldine said...

Intriguing words and gorgeous snow pics. Glad I stopped in.

Hugs, G

Rick said...

I'm afraid that when love has withered and joy is old there is little solace, although Scarlett O'Hara might well have answered that it is to be found "...in the kindness of strangers."

Last night I dreamed you rode in a carriage with Coleridge, discussing the merits of waking dreams.

BernardL said...

The words and pictures make for an icy cold pairing.

SzélsőFa said...

As long as there are shadows, there is the Sun to soothe us - a promise of spring and the ability to see the shadows from the light.

K.Lawson Gilbert said...

Those long shadows that reach into our very soul...it is they, themselves, that bring the cold.

They bring thoughts too - and you have expressed them so finely. Very probing poem.

That last line got to me - I want the boy to be comforted. Fantastic, Vesper - wow! One of my favorites so far. *?*

Vesper said...

Thank you, Moonrat. It’s nice to see you here.

Mark, what a beautiful answer… Thank you!

Oh, Cat, thank you… Snow has many hues and such a glitter…

Vanilla, I’m glad you liked this. Thank you! Such is my garden in winter…
xoxoxo

Thank you, Jason. I hope it’s not too hard a squeeze. :-)

Marilyn, thank you! It was at noon, very late December, and the sun was incredibly low…

Charles, soft starkness - I love that!

Karen, thank you. You’re right, no solace… But welcome to my blog! :-)

Glad you stopped in, Geraldine. Many thanks and many hugs!

Rick, or that “tomorrow is another day,” which, in fact, is one of my favourite escapes. Does your dream mean that I, like Coleridge, am lost in my visions, in the mist of the Water Dragon? Scary, in a way… But I am honoured that you’ve dreamt of me. :-)

Bernard, thank you. Nothing though that the beautiful California sun could not restore… :-)

SzélsőFa, does the sun reveal or heal the shadows?... But the promise of spring is warming one’s soul too.

K., thank you so much! This played as a song in my head, a curious, haunting song…

SzélsőFa said...

It does both, in my opinion.
Revealing shadows gives us a chance to actually see what the problem is and it also helps us to avoid fighting ghosts with no names.
And yes, it does heal.

Winter is much needed I think.

laughingwolf said...

really well said, v :D

i took up two new challenges, one is a 55-word flash, the other, telling a complete story in 6 words... hope you can join in :)

i call my 55s Mini, and the 6-word, 6-word ;)

L.A. Mitchell said...

What a perfect pairing: words to picture. Which came first?

As always, I pop in and find beauty. Thank you, V :)

Taffiny said...

in the beauty of the snow.

of course I'm not tending to metaphor, but in shadows there is present light. Our snow leaves no shadows today, all is grey here, and your shadows are beautiful.

I like the resonate quality of the question, "Where do you find your solace, boy?"

Vesper said...

SzélsőFa, ah, light and shadows... life is such a complex thing... But I think you're right, winter is needed.

Thank you, LW! :-)
And thank you for the info on the two new challenges! Sounds tempting... If only I could find a bit more time... :-)

L.A., I'm glad you popped in! :-) Thank you!

Taffiny, thank you for your thoughts and your kind words. Yes, shadows cannot be without some kind of light. The contrast is better than a dull grey... :-)

Sarah Hina said...

Wow...this poem feels ancient and knowing to me. And that top photo, with shadows stretched over snow, is its perfect companion.

No mercy in this one. But there's a beauty in that, too.

Vesper said...

No mercy in this one. - yes, Sarah, this is how it felt to me too... Yet, I had to write it.
Thank you for reading and for your kind words.
xoxoxo

Unknown said...

I wish we had snow in Hungary.