the river carries
me on
the back
of its silver-blue body
passing through
eddies and whorls
whose satin voices
whisper
dream
sleep
.
.
.
.
trees arch
overhead
and as i pass under
their outstretched arms
they ask
in leaf whispery voices,
"are you alright my love?"
rounding a bend
i can see
the terracotta roofs of
the twin gatehouses
soft sentinels
heralding my arrival
I wonder what is meant by the land of ever after?
ReplyDeletehello valerie, you know - the place where you get to live . . . happily . . . ever after! steven
ReplyDeleteI love the half dome of the moon as it peeps out above the river in this painting, Steven.
ReplyDeleteIt matches your words. A greeting at the end of the day, just as night begins to fall.
Your words grace Eaton's painting perfectly. I love ever after.
ReplyDeleteso its like the end of the faery tale.... and you get to live stress and bill free with the Knight in Shining Armor?
ReplyDeleteSounds like a good place to vacation. :)
ReplyDeleteEver after- oh yeah- I've been there, many times- it keeps changing! Just like the river.
ReplyDeleteYour ride on it's back is peaceful and lovingly encouraging, trees making sure that your well being is intact...I like that about your trees.
What a great writing prompt and response. Do you use prompts like this with students? Or was this written impromptu and the image just happened to fit?
ReplyDeleteelisabeth - yes! the leaving for the dreamworld. steven
ReplyDeletewillow thankyou. i love happily ever after ever since i first heard it. steven
ReplyDeletehmmm valerianna - well i'm not looking for features of the faery tale world no! i'm thinking more of a more perfect iteration of this world. it's there. it's all about availability and perception. steven
ReplyDeletehope - ha!!! steven
ReplyDeletelinda sue - there's this sense i have that nature takes care in ways that are more subtle than the brick bat of romance or the mush and gusg of romance. it's so subtle that it can be as simple as riding a bike out and every morning the crows greet you or fly alongside you for the first part of your journey. that sort of thing. happily ever after. yeah i've been there and back a few times. it's a good place to visit. steven
ReplyDeletemeri the students i have are eleven and twelve years old so i use simpler visual or text prompts but all the same i do. i write in response tot he painting. if it says something and i hear it then i write it and play with it and play with it right to the moment i push "publish post". steven
ReplyDeleteDreamy. I like floating down your words and landing softly, wherever...
ReplyDeletePlaying with this painting was obviously a dream to do...
ReplyDeleteI didn't really think you meant that.... but...
ReplyDeletehi rachel - i love finding something that lets me drift into that dreamy space. glad you could come along. steven
ReplyDeletejinksy - i could write more from that painting but i thought best to leave it short and dreamy. steven
ReplyDelete