Wednesday, December 30, 2009

spellbound

the night is darkening round me,
the wild winds coldly blow;
but a tyrant spell has bound me
and i cannot, cannot go.

the giant trees are bending
their bare boughs weighed with snow.
and the storm is fast descending,
and yet i cannot go.

clouds beyond clouds above me,
wastes beyond wastes below;
but nothing dear can move me;
i will not, cannot go.

emily brontë



the wise trees
stand sleeping in the cold

william carlos williams


and fragile folk might be here
that white winds bid depart;

thomas hardy

31 comments:

Kathleen said...

Sigh....longer sigh........The gorgeous words and oh-so-fine photography are a welcome respite, as are the sweet snowflakes traveling across your page.

Dick said...

Beautiful pictures and apposite texts.

Dave King said...

Splendid images, particularly the first, that really appealed to me - and well-chosen verses. A Happy New Year to you.

Golden West said...

Your pictures convey such stillness, magnified by your choice of black and white, Steven. Stark beauty.

steven said...

hi kathleen - these are from a cold, very cold day when the phrase "the depths of winter" really fit. i was thinking of the stillness in the trees and in the little barn. thanks for your thoughtful comment. steven

steven said...

hello dick, thankyou for your kind comment. steven

steven said...

golden west thankyou for that. that's what i was hoping to be able to share. thanks that means a lot to me! have a peaceful day. steven

steven said...

dave thankyou. i'm glad you liked that photograph. i love entanglements of all sorts!! a peaceful and prosperous new year for you dave. steven

Jenny Stevning said...

...ahhhhh...(sigh)...oh, I don't have words...lovely...and that last photo, be still my heart...
Thank you! You've done it again!

hope said...

It's funny how snow can dust everything with a coat of "pretty", making you forget about the cold.

Thanks for such lovely photos...our "snow" will be coming tomorrow in the form of really cold liquid. ;)

Here's wishing you a wonderful 2010!

steven said...

hello jenny! i realy love the bronte words - there's so much truth to the undeniable attraction of an approaching storm in winter. the stillness beforehand is what i wanted to share. i always think of the people who built and used that barn when i see it. have a peaceful day. steven

steven said...

hello hope - that's so true. a cold day without snow is just a cold day and it loses something of its beauty for that. i love rain. more than snow. but for now i'll follow the groove of seeing what's in and beyond the surface of this winter in the eastern woodlands! have a lovely new year hope. steven

Anonymous said...

How true, the cold bleak day seems so raw. We have been waiting for snow to soften our scenery for days now. Since both of us are retired it is so nice not to have to struggle through it. I have plenty of snow on my blog just waiting for the real stuff. I do like the Bronte quote and the black and white pictures.
blessings
QMM

steven said...

good morning qmm! we haven't had as much snow this year as last year. that's a small mercy!! the snow we do have here covers things just so! have a peaceful day. steven

ellen abbott said...

They are wonderful photos steven.

Bonnie Zieman, M.Ed. said...

Your photos looks like etchings from the universe. There is so much beauty in the seemingly stark, barren, dark....if we only rest long enough to allow our heart to see it. Just lovely, Steven.

Enchanted Oak said...

Brrr! Lovely and cold. From a distance I enjoy it. Today it's raining here, so delicious. We've been suffering from drought, so the rain is a double blessing. Happy New Year.

Jinksy said...

Superbly evocative winter pictures embellished by golden words.

Friko said...

Lovely, lovely pictures, steven. This is actually what it looks like from my window at the moment. A world in black and white.

You have chosen beautiful words to go with.

A happy new year to you, friend, from Friko in your old Heimat.

Lorenzo — Alchemist's Pillow said...

Your posts normally take just seconds to read but I find them echoing inside me long after I leave the page ...

Keep up the beautiful work, Steven, and happy new year!

Jeannette StG said...

Love your header - stunning! And the last pic of this post -sober, quiet

steven said...

hello jeannette!! thankyou very much! the header is of some berries on a bush about seventy five metres from me. the small barn in the last picture is about half a kilometre from here across some fields. i try to share peacefulness, thoughtfulness and goodness here. i'm glad you visited! steven

Cheryl Cato said...

Thank you for the reminder of how lovely is the poetry of EB. Your photographs are stunning & I like the "snowfall" on your blog. Happy new year~may it be peaceful & filled with love & joy. Lizzy

steven said...

hi lizzy - i'm glad that you enjoyed emily's words! thankyou for your kind comment and i'm certainly looking forward to whatever this new year brings. have a lovely evening. steven

steven said...

hi lorenzo - thanks for that very generous compliment! it's total pleasure preparing posts for my blog. i'm so delighted that visitors like yourself get a similar enjoyment from them. have a peaceful and prosperous new year! steven

steven said...

hello ellen and thankyou. i'm glad that you liked them. steven

steven said...

hello bonnie - i wish i could turn these into woodblocks. wishes like that have some sort of resonance in what should be! thankyou for your kind comment. steven

steven said...

ahhh enchanted oak - you're doubly fortunate to have rain and for it to come in a time of drought. hurray!!!
have a lovely evening. steven

steven said...

jinksy thankyou so much. it's easy to build on the words of masters like bronte!! have a lovely evening. steven

steven said...

friko - i am so pleased that you see the connection between the words i chose and the photographs i shared. i can believe that it looks just like this where you are right now! have a peaceful and warm evening. steven

BT said...

Those photos are beautiful Steven and make me feel cold when I look at them. The second one particularly conveys the stillness of a snow laden field. Gorgeous words too.