Friday, September 4, 2009

the lovers they were gone

i had a lovely bike ride this evening,
following the course of the otonabee river north
and then looping back south to rejoin it.

the paths and roads were almost
entirely silent.

time stopped.
~

the sun sank low and golden
behind the bright red sumac leaves
as i climbed back over the hills to my home.


it was late, late in the evening,   
the lovers they were gone; 
the clocks had ceased their chiming,   
and the deep river ran on.

excerpted from "as i walked out one evening" 
w.h. auden

10 comments:

Reya Mellicker said...

I love the long, low shadows at this time of year, close to sunset. What a beautiful ride it must have been, Steven.

I love your link "list."

Margaret Pangert said...

The photo capsulizes the golden bronze and empty quiet of end of day. Lovely, Steven.

Tess Kincaid said...

The Auden words are lovely. I read them aloud. Twice. ((sigh))

Delwyn said...

Hi Steven
I liked the paradox that came through this post today...

when you bike, (walk, write, create...)
you can become so focused in the now that time stops...

a sure sign of bliss...

On the other hand:
the river never stops running...

thanks for today's treasure Steven


Happy days

Dan Gurney said...

Your words are as poetic as Auden's.

steven said...

hi reya, it's truly amazing to ride through a small city, along a riverside path, around a university and then back more or less the same way and see hardly anyone. but i like that. a lot. the sun was on my right as i came home and did its diamond dance on the river. the shadows were long and the ground was all shades of deep yellow to bronze shading. have a lovely day. steven

steven said...

hi margaret, thanks for that! i was full of the evening when i took that photograph and found those words. i'm glad that it came through. steven

steven said...

hi willow, auden's words are of his time and place and so they carry colour which for me makes them filled with pictures. that's their beauty i think. i'm glad you went with them also. have a lovely day at the manor. steven

steven said...

hi delwyn, it's absolutely true. when i am biking, painting, writing time is of no consequence and so i don't know it anymore. biking is physical work of course and for some people that renders it "unpleasant" but the body can take care of that freeing up the mind and then . . . . . bliss!! have a lovely night by the river!! steven

steven said...

hi dan, what's that sound. like a balloon inflating!! oh it's just my head!!! thanks for that very generous comment dan!! have a lovely day at home. steven