2008-09-25

Renhai Reflections 16: Miles Around


Miles Around
A Renhai by Vaughn Seward (vs), and Hortensia Anderson (ha)
Written Nov 29 - Dec 6, 2007

Dawn's cloud cover —
the pale grey sky deepens
with the dusk. /ha

Untouched snow for miles around — /ha
faint tree line in the distance. /vs

Empty nest —
a weathered bit of string
hangs from a twig. /vs

Theme: Untouched
Season: Winter
Link 1 to 2: Sky / Horizon
Link 2 to 3: Tree / Twig
Link 3 to 1: Weathered / Pale

The untouched theme is referenced in verse 1 by the feeling of the sky being normally out of reach. "We had been fishing in the winter (the whole day - but in a boat) and at dawn, the sky was nothing but cloud cover. On our way back, as the sky darkened, I noticed we never had seen a sun. That 'dawn's pale cloud cover' was still there and grey, only deepening with dusk. It was like a rippling sky - like washable silk."

In verse 3 "untouched" is portrayed by the empty nest of the birds that had flown south for the winter.

This is another early Renhai written with Hortensia Anderson of New York city. It is the first of a three-way set of Renhai with Hortensia, myself, and Zhanna P. Rader (of Georgia). We'll look more into what a three-way is all about after posting the other two Renhai.

10 comments:

Borut said...

A Miles Davis kind of p-ie-ea-a-ce!?:)Peacefully, at a slow pace, piece by piece...

John McDonald said...

love it
john

polona said...

beautiful images that work powerfully together

J. Andrew Lockhart said...

you 2 did a wonderful job on this :)

Masago said...

Thank you all!

Borut: :-) ...I love your alliterated punposition.

Janet said...

I like this one very much.

jem said...

This technique throws up some great results. I love the contrast between the more panoramic view of the first two parts and then the closeup focus of the last.

Masago said...

Janet & Jem: Thank you for your kind words.

Pamela said...

reminds me of a late morning walk last winter, when something sparkling in the tree caught my attention.

A tattered nest made from tinsel..

Masago said...

Pamela: A lovely image. Thanks.