Monday Morning Musings:
“People observe the colors of a day only at its beginnings and ends, but to me it’s quite clear that a day merges through a multitude of shades and intonations, with each passing moment.
A single hour can consist of thousands of different colors.”
–Markus Zusak, The Book Thief
Follow the shadows
through dreams colored with deep-time
longing. The seeds nested, specks
of hope, driven by time—
unleashed cycles, harmonic notes
star-born melodies
heard without, but held within
blood, skin, and organs—dust of
ancient incandescence
infinite shades of light from yesterday
merge with tomorrow
harmony and dissonance,
my parents speak in dream-time
enrooted in my mind
and heart, we are united
as midnight blue shifts
to violet, then golden
blaze, an ageless song of light
captured, remembered as
it passes, every color
in time, of time, time-
charged, time-changed by shifts of chance,
a crash, a brief encounter,
a prism of color
light reborn, transformed, transcendent.
I didn’t go anywhere this week or do anything special, but the changing temperatures and weather have made for some incredible skies. Influenced by Jane Dougherty, I decided to try a wayra chain today for my musings.
Merril’s Movie/TV/Book Club:
We saw The Hand of God (Netflix), Italian director Paolo Sorrentino’s autobiographical coming-of-age movie. The movie is set in Naples and full of quirky characters, as well as some surreal images, combining warmth, fate, tragedy—and soccer—in a poignant cinematic memoir.
We watched Anxious People (Netflix), a Swedish series written by Fredrik Bachman based on his novel. (He also wrote A Man Called Ove.) This limited series of 6 short, bingeable episodes (we watched it in two nights) is quirky, but heartwarming. My husband and I both enjoyed how the story was revealed over time. You would see something like a man’s bandaged nose, but not find out how it happened until another episode. The story concerns a failed bank robbery/hostage situation with a father-son pair of police officers who are not used to dealing with such crimes. It’s more Nordic charm than Nordic noir.
I read Lauren Groff’s Matrix, a novel based on the twelfth-century Marie de France. Little is known about her, so Groff is free to invent her life, which she does, in this beautifully written book.
Yesterday and today: Merril's historical musings 
I had to look up Wayra – surprisingly difficult to find!
And I love how you colour-coordinated your images, in tune with the opening quote and the beautiful poem that followed.
Happy Monday!
Thank you! I had to go back to look it up again, too. I just know Jane has been writing lots of them. There was a dVerse prompt for the form, too.
Thank you about the photos. 😀
Happy Monday to you, too!
I remembered the dVerse prompt but could not for the life of me remember what it was. 🙂
Thanks!
You’re welcome!
🧡
I had to look up Wayra as well. I’d never heard of it before.
Look at us! We shall go to bed all that much smarter tonight! 🙂
Hopefully, we’ll be just as smart when he wake up tomorrow!
There is that…
I think I’m going to create a file with all the different poetry genres I have learnt through Merril!
That’s a great idea!
🙂
Oh you two! 💙 I just learn these forms from prompts and challenges and sometimes poetry journals.
And, thanks to you, we learn them, too! 🧡
❤️
😀
🙂
A magical combination of photos and words. I loved seeing the colors transition throughout the day.
Thank you so much, Ali! I appreciate your reading and comment.
Beautiful post today, Merril. I love the last photo of the water with the bridge…gorgeous!
Thank you, Jill!
I was so transfixed by the gulls that morning and how they caught the light against the darker clouds.
This is luscious, in words and pictures. The light is so bright!
The wayra seems like a good form to work with. The lines are long enough to carry an idea.
Thank you so much!
The light has been gorgeous, not every day, but enough to stand out. Somehow it raises my spirits when I see skies like that.
I think using the wayra form forced me to write a little differently–more imagist perhaps. 😀 It’s like I gave myself a challenge!
It was a challenge worth doing!
💙
Love this: “star-born melodies
heard without, but held within
blood, skin, and organs—dust of
ancient incandescence
infinite shades of light from yesterday”
And as Dale pointed out, the way you color coordinated your beautiful images with your beautiful words.
The winter light has been wonderful. I often wonder if it’s new or if it’s something I failed to notice with such intensity in the past.
Thank you so much, Robin. I’m pleased you enjoyed words and photos. the color-coordinating was not exactly planned, but I’m glad it worked. 😀
I remember thinking that in the autumn–that I hadn’t paid as much attention to the light and beauty in previous years.
Merril, you have posted some amazing shots here.
Your prose is rose-y. Adore it.
I will get Netflix. There’s a lot of great programming. I need to get a tv I can stream on.
Always… waiting for Covid to calm down.
There’s an HBO limited series you might like. “My Brilliant Friend”. 14 episodes.
Thank you very much, Resa. We use Chromecast to stream to our TV. One of these days we’ll get a smart TV, I guess.
I know of My Brilliant Friend, but I haven’t read the books, and I don’t have HBO.
Ahh! too many choices. I got a free Chromecast from the Academy, but it messed everything up with our provider, so I disbanded it.
Starting around late March, I get free access to all networks and streaming services nomination wanna be’s, until end of August.
Thing is we have a stupid TV, so I have to watch everything on my laptop.
We keep saying, as soon as the pandemic is over” …. We might have to change that saying!
Oh well. Good luck. I’ve been happy we could stream so much–movies and plays.
I LOVE the stunning sunsets!! Color of all kinds is very welcome right now.
Thank you so much, Liz! Yes, they are.
Sorry for my delayed response. I’m trying to finish a special test-writing assignment.
You’re welcome, Merril! No need to apologize. I hope the assignment goes well. (I never liked writing tests. 🙂 )
Thank you, Liz! Apparently, I did more than they expected, so they’re very happy with me. 😀 I never liked writing tests when I was teaching, but I also had no idea about how to write them then.
You’re welcome, Merril. I was never taught how to write test questions either. I could tell when one was invalid after the fact–and then I’d throw it out. Not the best way to go about it!
No, I don’t think test writing is often taught. I didn’t know there was a whole field devoted to testing till I started.
I was aware of the field of assessment, but all the statistics were too much for someone who’s best at just making stuff up.
I am not involved in the statistical end at all. Yikes! I could never do that. 🤣
I didn’t think you were. 😉 I want data to have statistical validity, but I don’t want to have to figure out how it all works.
😀
Your commenters mentioned having to look up “wayra.” I was unfamiliar with it too, so here goes: The Wayra (Quechua – wind ) is a popular verse form of Peru and Bolivia. … It is a short syllabic verse form found at Vole Central and some other sites around the internet. The elements of the Wayra are: a pentastich, a poem in 5 lines.
There’s probably more to it than that, but the definition satisfied my curiosity.
North Florida dusk is now sporting pink and blue banners, sort of like your trio of photos. Thanks!
Thank you, Marian. For me, the significance were the syllabic lines5/7/7/6/8.
Enjoy your sunsets. 😀
🙂
Gorgeous photos and poem, Merril! I haven’t been out for sunrise or sunset, but the clouds in-between have been very interesting and surreal down here. Thanks for the movie suggestion. I listened to an audio version of A Man Called Ove and loved it.
Thank you so much. Marie. I fortunate that I can see sunrises and sunsets from my kitchen.
We saw the movie of A Man Called Ove–back when we went to theaters. 😏
Your poetry and images flow with the rise and fall of a symphony, Merril. It sounds like you watched some great movies. I caulked baseboards and continue to work on touch up paint on the first floor renovation. Almost done!
Thank you so much, Colleen!
You know I love movies and shows!
Good luck with your house restoration. I’m busy with test writing and behind on responding. I want to get the work done so I can get back to poetry!
Well, I threw my back out which a signal from the universe that I needed a rest. So, the downstairs is almost done. I still have curtains to hang after I do a bit of touch up painting. I’m ready for it to be done. LOL! ❤
Oh no! Rest and feel better. 💙
Thanks, Merril. I’m resting. ❤️
What wonderful skies! And good use of the form. It fits well with your musings. (K)
Thank you so much, Kerfe.
Great words along with beautiful pictiures
Thank you very much!
Mine pleasure.
‘dust of
ancient incandescence’
is a beautiful phrase! I love the inspiration you take from the light of the universe 😊
Thank you so much, Ingrid! 💙
Your images and verses suit the quotation so well
Thank you very much, Derrick.
Lovely, Merril! I will look up Matrix; I hadn’t heard of it. In the last few years the Swedish stuff we’ve watched has not been the best at all. Much prefer the British and continental stuff we’ve watched.
Thank you, Luanne!
I just happened to find Matrix in the library. I’m reading Louise Erdrich’s The Sentence now-a book I found on the same library visit. Totally different, but also beautiful writing.
Anxious People was fun. I can’t remember the last Swedish series we watched–Icelandic, Finnish, Danish.. .We love the Japanese show on Netflix, Midnight Diner, and I watch a lot of British shows, too, and German, French. . .well, I guess every country has good and bad shows! 😀
Well, to a certain degree, yes. But America has a lot crummier shows than the UK.
The quote about colors of the day, and your resulting poem, brings me so much peach and emotion at the same time. I want to notice/appreciate the colors of each hour more now. Your photos are always such a delight to see on Insta and FB. Lastly, I read Anxious People and LOVED the book. It’s on the list I’ll post tomorrow, as well as woven into a story.
Thank you, Pam. I’m pleased you enjoyed it.
Perhaps I’ll read Anxious People at some point. The author wrote the show, too.
I think I’ve read all of his books. This was one of my favorites! It started out slowly, and you wonder if you’re going to like any of the characters, or even the book. Then it all comes together in beautiful ways.
Sounds good!
In your photos of the cloudy skies, I see not just “specks of hope”, but a blanket of it. Thank you for sharing the beauty of it!
Thank you for stopping by. I’m pleased you enjoyed the photos.
Such beauty in this post, my mind is blown! I’ve learned something new today, teacher Merril. I’ve brought you an 🍎.
I’m glad you enjoyed my post and also learned something, Rose. Thank you for the apple!💕
Reblogged this on The Wombwell Rainbow.
Thank you, Paul!