Round'n round

...Round'n round 
Carousel 
Has got you under it's spell 
Moving so fast... but 
Going nowhere...
                                          Norah Jones, Carnival Town

On the Linden Tree (Marie Claire Idées)

NA LIPĘ

Gościu, siądź pod mym liściem, a odpoczni sobie!
Nie dójdzie cię tu słońce, przyrzekam ja tobie,
Choć się nawysszej wzbije, a proste promienie
Ściągną pod swoje drzewa rozstrzelane cienie.
Tu zawżdy chłodne wiatry z pola zawiewają,
Tu słowicy, tu szpacy wdzięcznie narzekają.
Z mego wonnego kwiatu pracowite pszczoły
Biorą miód, który potym szlachci pańskie stoły.
A ja swym cichym szeptem sprawić umiem snadnie,
Że człowiekowi łacno słodki sen przypadnie.
Jabłek wprawdzie nie rodzę, lecz mię pan tak kładzie
Jako szczep napłodniejszy w hesperyskim sadzie.
                                                                    
                                                                             Jan Kochanowski, Fraszki

On the Linden Tree

Guest, sit beneath my leaves and rest at ease! 
The sun will not reach you here, I promise, 
Even if it truly soars, and straight beams 
Draw the scattered shadows under the trees. 
Here cool breezes always blow from the field, 
Here nightingales and starlings sweetly keen, 
From my fragrant flower, industrious bees 
Take honey which graces nobleman's feast. 
With my soft whisper I know by what means 
To lull you with ease into sweetest dreams. 
Though I do not bear apples, my lord prizes me 
The most fruitful plant among the Hesperian trees.

                               Jan Kochanowski, Trifles, Translated by Michael J. Mikos

In the hourless forest

Dans la forêt sans heures
On abat un grand arbre.
Un vide ver­ti­cal
Tremble en forme de fût
Près du tronc étendu.
Cher­chez, cher­chez, oiseaux,
La place de vos nids
Dans ce haut sou­ve­nir
Tant qu’il mur­mure encore.
                                                            Jules Super­vielle, in Le for­çat inno­cent

Visible here or anywhere

Germs
Forms, qualities, lives, humanity, language, thoughts,
The ones known, and the ones unknown, the ones on the stars,
The stars themselves, some shaped, others unshaped,
Wonders as of those countries, the soil, trees, cities, inhabitants, whatever they may be,
Splendid suns, the moons and rings, the countless combinations and effects,
Such-like, and as good as such-like, visible here or anywhere, stand
provided for a handful of space, which I extend my arm and
half enclose with my hand,
That containing the start of each and all, the virtue, the germs of all.

                                                                                               Walt Whitman, Day Poems, Poem No. 1991

Weird-Bird

Weird-Bird
Birds are flyin' south for winter.
Here's the Weird-Bird headin' north,
Wings a-flappin', beak a-chatterin',
Cold head bobbin' back 'n' forth.
He says, "It's not that I like ice
Or freezin' winds and snowy ground.
It's just sometimes it's kind of nice
To be the only bird in town."
                                                                       Shel Silverstein, Falling Up

Wild strawberries

Wild Strawberries

Are Wild Strawberries really wild?
Will they scratch an adult, will they snap at a child?
Should you pet them, or let them run free where they roam?
Could they ever relax in a steam-heated home?
Can they be trained to not growl at the guests?
Will a litterbox work or would they leave a mess?
Can we make them a Cowberry, herding the cows,
Or maybe a Muleberry pulling the plows,
Or maybe a Huntberry chasing the grouse,
Or maybe a Watchberry guarding the house,
And though they may curl up at your feet oh so sweetly,
Can you ever feel that you trust them completely?
Or should we make a pet out of something less scary,
Like the Domestic Prune or the Imported Cherry,
Anyhow, you’ve been warned and I will not be blamed
If your Wild Strawberry cannot be tamed.

Shel Silverstein, Where the Sidewalk Ends

Among the trees

If you are a dreamer, come in
If you are a dreamer, a wisher, a liar,
A Hope-er, a Pray-er, a Magic Bean buyer...
If you're a pretender, come sit by my fire
For we have some flax-golden tales to spin.
Come in!
Come in!

                        Shel Silverstein, Where the Sidewalk Ends: The Poems and Drawings of Shel Silverstein



The Heart of the Spring (inspired by Kazuko Aoki)

"...Gradually the birds began to sing, and when the last grains of sand were falling, everything suddenly seemed to overflow with their music. It was the most beautiful and living moment of the year; one could listen to the spring's heart beating in it..."

William Butler Yeats The Heart of the Spring