Saturday, February 6, 2010

the improbable gold


wild grasses
on a mid-winter's day.

the wind blowing hard
and unrepentantly cold.

seed-heads
the improbable gold
of doll's hair.

ablur in the
late afternoon sun.

i walked by them
at first.

then an insistant voice
in my head
asked me
to turn back.

i listened.
and saw them.

again
for the first time.


plumes of pampas grass -
the helpless tremblings
of a lonely heart

25 comments:

Kathleen said...

Such contrast always stirs my soul.

Dan Gurney said...

Dry summer grasses--
California’s truest gold
Found in Canada...

Elisabeth said...

They almost look alive, Steven. They're stunning against the stark outline of branches and the blue cloud filled sky.

Barry said...

They are delicate and lovely against those deep blue winter skies, Steven.

steven said...

kathleen - it caught my eye - inner and outer. steven

steven said...

hi dan, prairie grasses are gradually being reintroduced to my area as, contrary to what was originally thought, this area was not entirely covered with trees, rivers, lakes and rocky outcrops. it was actually also covered with great expanses of tall prairie grass. you'll see small decorative plantings all over and then some devoted plantings where a concerted effort to return this area to its original design is underway! thankyou so much for the lovely haiku! steven

steven said...

hello elisabeth - they were moving in the breeze - which was a very thin, hard winds at times - but they caught the four o'clock winter sun just before it dropped behind the hills. it was their life that caught my eyes. have a peaceful day. steven

ellen abbott said...

Pampas grass? It blooms here in the fall. One of our signs of fall.

nollyposh said...

Lovely X:-)

steven said...

hey ellen - i'm pretty sure that this isn't pampas grass but issa's words were hard to pass up! i love when wild grass goes to seed. it's like tiny fractals of the mother plant. have a lovely day down there. steven

steven said...

thankyou nolly. steven

steven said...

i love contrast barry. it's usually the first visual element i see. then i look for detail and especially why i'm drawn to it as a metaphor. have a lovely day barry. steven

Dave King said...

That pampas grass is really something. Tremendous!

hope said...

Wow...they really do like plumes of gold! What an eye catching photo. Thanks for sharing!

Reya Mellicker said...

I love being on a wavelength with you, Steven! Love that crazy, curly winter grass. Your images are exquisite! Yay!!

steven said...

dave i've gotta be honest here and say i'm not sure what kind of grass this is. but thanks!! steven

steven said...

hope it's the combination of them moving in the wind and the low late winter sun. i loved the sight and i'm glad you did to! steven

steven said...

ha reya - what fun!! thanks. steven

Golden West said...

My mom always used to tell us kids, "All that glitters isn't gold".

Your grasses against the blue of the sky with the black spider webbery of the trees - outstanding!

The Fuller Family said...

It's so important to listen to that inner voice--it never fails us. I'm glad you wrote about that part because I needed to hear it! Thank you.

Linda Sue said...

majic wands!

Anonymous said...

Did you not get a lot of snow to contend with instead of these pretty flowers and leaves?

We got dumped on big time. Lots of snow and deep.

The two planes are the same plane flying from an air show. One was smaller and flying the second round. The first round I talked about in Patty being scared.

The second one was higher. I put the two together to indicate two flybys at the air show. We were out at the farm for both passes.

Meri said...

They look like thin layers of candy or glass, though they must have much more dimension than that. I love how Nature gives us those gifts in the dead of winter.

Tess Kincaid said...

I just didn't feel right without my Golden Fish fix today!

Hey, Steven, I've aleady had such a good response, I felt confident enough to go ahead and set up the new blog and photo prompt! First one due Tuesday, Feb. 16 to give everyone enough time to find the new blog and sign the Mr. Linky. Fun!

http://www.magpietales.blogspot.com/

BT said...

Such beauty, steven and how wonderful that they are returning areas to their true state.