Wednesday, February 23, 2011

i am vertical




i am not a tree with my root in the soil -
compared with me, a tree is immortal
tonight, in the infinitesimal light of the stars
thoughts gone dim
it is more natural to me, lying down

then the sky and i are in open conversation

words excerpted from "i am vertical" sylvia plath
posted by steven at 12:07 AM

18 comments:

Elisabeth said...

I like the idea of an pen conversation with the sky, as if words boom out from the one below and then boom back from the great void above. Thanks, Steven

February 23, 2011 at 1:06 AM
Anonymous said...

I get lost in this tender light, the incredible image and the harmonizing words. So beautiful...!

I wish you a blue sunny day, Steven!

Renée

February 23, 2011 at 1:53 AM
Ruth said...

Wow, Steven, this gives an honest and different view from what we read at Rilke yesterday, that If we surrendered / to earth's intelligence / we could rise up rooted, like trees. There is truth in Plath's lines, as much as in the rootedness. This beautiful image of lying down / then the sky and I are in open conversation will stay with me today. Thank you.

February 23, 2011 at 4:09 AM
Reya Mellicker said...

Ah Sylvia - whew! She was a creature of late winter, wasn't she? hopes/fears, the truth told in such a beautiful, cold, creepy way.

May she rest in peace.

May spring come as soon as possible!

May it be so.

February 23, 2011 at 8:29 AM
Pauline said...

interesting - I always find conversations with the sky come more easily when I am horizontal...

February 23, 2011 at 8:46 AM
Butternut Squash said...

I love the feeling of lying down vertical in open conversation with the stars, but I think I will at least wait until the Spring.

Thank you for the pleasant Plath.

February 23, 2011 at 11:30 AM
aguja said...

The light and texture in the photograph is incredible. the words, inspiring one to commune with nature.

February 23, 2011 at 3:37 PM
Dulce said...

I love to talk to the sky too... enless conversations can come up
Dulce

February 23, 2011 at 6:39 PM
steven said...

elisabeth - the sky is such a rich metaphor for entirely open dynamic spaces that have some degree of patterning about their actions. steven

February 23, 2011 at 6:42 PM
steven said...

renee the photograph is of the road on my walk home. a tree reflected in a small puddle. there's so much goodness in the world that even the simplest most easily overlooked moment carries substance. steven

February 23, 2011 at 6:43 PM
steven said...

ruth i messed with sylvia's writing - i'm wont to do that to help make sense of the senseless defining of the details of this existence but they are her words passed through her mind and heart and hands. the sky suffers so much analysis and then also so much extravagant admiration. i watch it for signs and signifiers. steven

February 23, 2011 at 6:46 PM
steven said...

reya - i admire sylvia plath's economy of insight and her compassionate representation of the big words and big scenes. steven

February 23, 2011 at 6:47 PM
steven said...

pauline - ha! i'm right there!!!! steven

February 23, 2011 at 6:48 PM
steven said...

oh buttercup - my eyes are forever skyward and yet i so get your wish to lie down and watch the skies spin around my little place in the world. steven

February 23, 2011 at 6:51 PM
steven said...

aguja - in my own world view you commune with nature under all circumstances. it's the degree to which you are open to that communion that changes. steven

February 23, 2011 at 6:51 PM
* said...

Your photo (yours? truly amazing) and Plath's words, pair to a stunning finish.

February 24, 2011 at 3:43 AM
Tess Kincaid said...

Magnificent photo, Steven. Now, since you've teased me, I'm off to read the rest of the Plath...

February 24, 2011 at 4:04 PM
SKIZO said...

Wonderful
work
good creations

February 25, 2011 at 7:16 PM

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