Mountain Retreat

What goes well with pictures from a lovely mountain retreat? The poetry of Emily Dickinson of course! My family's time at my parents mountain cabin was refreshing and sweet. I hope you find a moment of quiet repose in these images and words.

XXI

Emily Dickenson

The grass so little has to do, -

A sphere of simple green,

With only butterflies to brood,

And bees to entertain

And stir all day to pretty tunes

The breezes fetch along,

And hold the sunshine in its lap

And bow to everything;

Crowning the hill

A glimpse of home

Quiet beckons

Proudly posing blue beauty

Little fingers collecting summer time treasures

Blackberries not yet black guarded by a sentinel daisy

Walks with a friend are always the best

Summer donned her lacy gown

A creative display of grasses

Goodbye!

  And thread the dews all night, like pearls,

And make itself so fine, -

A duchess were too common

For such a noticing.

And even when it dies, to pass

In odors so divine,

As lowly spices gone to sleep,

 Or amulets of pine.

And then to dwell in sovereign barns,

And dream the days away, -

The grass so little has to do,

I wish I were the hay!

Beauty Through My Eyes

 "Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything beautiful, for beauty is God's 

handwriting." Ralph Waldo Emerson

Taking time for beauty makes us better; whether observing the beauty of creation, being moved by great music, seeing the world through poetry or being transported by a painting. There is joy to be found in the organic rhythm of beauty all around us. The more we open ourselves to appreciating beauty the more we will see it. Let me share with you a taste of the beautiful, I hope it will touch and enrich your heart.

The Return of Spring

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Now Time throws off his cloak again
Of ermined frost, and wind, and rain,
And clothes him in the embroidery
Of glittering sun and clear blue sky.

With beast and bird the forest rings,
Each in his jargon cries or sings;
And Time throws off his cloak again.
Of ermined frost, and wind, and rain.

River, and fount, and tinkling brook
Wear in their dainty livery
Drops of silver jewelry;
In new-made suit they merry look;

And Time throws off his cloak again
Of ermined frost, and wind, and rain. 

Longfellow has long been one of my favorites. Whenever I turn to him I can always count on 

being transported. In southern Alabama we're in the throws of summer but I appreciated this colorful description of earth transformed. Wherever you are this week, I hope you experience your own metamorphosis, a waking up of joy and casting off of the old!

Beauty Through my Eyes: If I Can Stop One Heart From Breaking by Emily Dickinson

 "Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything beautiful, for beauty is God's handwriting."Ralph Waldo Emerson

Taking time for beauty makes us better; whether observing the beauty of creation, being moved by great music, seeing the world through poetry or being transported by a painting. There is joy to be found in the organic rhythm of beauty all around us. The more we open ourselves to appreciating beauty the more we will see it. Let me share with you a taste of the beautiful, I hope it will touch and enrich your heart.

  If I can stop one heart from breaking,

I shall not live in vain;
If I can ease one life the aching,
Or cool one pain,
Or help one fainting robin
Unto his nest again,
I shall not live in vain.

by Emily Dickinson

Beauty Through my Eyes: The Day is Done by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

"Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything beautiful, for beauty is God's handwriting."

Ralph Waldo Emerson

I believe making time for beauty makes us better; whether it's observing the beauty of creation, being moved by great music, seeing the world through poetry or being transported by a painting. There is joy to be found in the organic rhythm of beauty all around us. The more we open ourselves to appreciating beauty the more we will see it. So, let me share with you what I find beautiful, I hope it will touch and enrich your heart.

The poetry of of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow is my favorite. He sees life and human nature with quick eyes of discernment and sympathy. His eloquent words, framing the simplest of moments, touch my heart. Tonight my thoughts turn to one of his most cherished poems. Rich in beauty, and for me sentiment, I can hear my mother's voice quoting it's lines.

The Day is Done

The day is done, and the darkness
Falls from the wings of Night,
As a feather is wafted downward
From an eagle in his flight.

I see the lights of the village
Gleam through the rain and the mist,
And a feeling of sadness comes o'er me
That my soul cannot resist:

A feeling of sadness and longing,
That is not akin to pain,
And resembles sorrow only
As the mist resembles the rain.

Come, read to me some poem,
Some simple and heartfelt lay,
That shall soothe this restless feeling,
And banish the thoughts of day.

Not from the grand old masters,
Not from the bards sublime,
Whose distant footsteps echo
Through the corridors of Time.

For, like strains of martial music,
Their mighty thoughts suggest
Life's endless toil and endeavor;
And to-night I long for rest.

Read from some humbler poet,
Whose songs gushed from his heart,
As showers from the clouds of summer,
Or tears from the eyelids start;

Who, through long days of labor,
And nights devoid of ease,
Still heard in his soul the music
Of wonderful melodies.

Such songs have power to quiet
The restless pulse of care,
And come like the benediction
That follows after prayer.

Then read from the treasured volume
The poem of thy choice,
And lend to the rhyme of the poet
The beauty of thy voice.

And the night shall be filled with music
And the cares, that infest the day,
Shall fold their tents, like the Arabs,
And as silently steal away.

I hope your night is filled with music and your cares melt away.

Friday Favorites: Robert Frost's Poems, reviewed

This week's book is a collection of work by one of my favorite poet's. I have several poets I love, which I plan to highlight in the future, Robert Frost is one of them.

I was first exposed to Robert Frost as a little girl. My mother enjoyed reciting poems she had memorized and reading to us from an old book of verse. Frost was one of her favorites as well. The first of his poems I recall hearing was his famous "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening." I remember listening to the words roll off of my mother's tongue. As she spoke I could see the little horse stomp his foot on the crusty snow, I heard the bells of his harness as he shook his head,. I was hooked. Poetry painted the world and taught me how to see through different eyes. I think my love of writing ignited as I heard brilliant men and women shape words to create a moment of beauty.

Frost was a master of the art. He wrote during the early 20th century, often depicting idyllic country life in New England. He was honored for his work by receiving four Pulitzer Prizes among other awards.

My favorite Frost poems include Birches, Mending Wall, Tree at my Window, The Exposed Nest, My Butterfly and The Road Not Taken. If you are unfamiliar with his works I suggest you start with one of those. I had wanted to share Birches with you, which is my very favorite, but it's long and I couldn't bear breaking it up to include only a section. You will just have to read it yourself! Instead I'm going to share Blue-Butterfly Day it's one of his beautiful, shorter poems.

Blue-Butterfly Day

It is blue-butterfly day here in spring,
And with these sky-flakes down in flurry on flurry
There is more unmixed color on the wing
Than flowers will show for days unless they hurry.

But these are flowers that fly and all but sing:
And now from having ridden out desire
They lie closed over in the wind and cling
Where wheels have freshly sliced the April mire.

 

Beauty is so important in our lives. How do you incorporate it into yours?