Saturday, October 30, 2010

Three cinquains for autumn, Judas pods, and off now.



beneath
the Judas tree
a snapdragon glows red
as a pheasant's cheek brazens out
autumn

~

morning
blackbirds argue
the toss of October
ragamuffin wind scattered
garden

~

sandals
and plimsolls leave
the perch of the shoe rack
lace-up walking shoes roost there now
and boots

~

(The first one came to me mostly unbidden.  I thought perhaps it would make a haiku, but it couldn't be reduced enough.  Looking in the manual, I found that, in fact, with very little work, it wanted to be a cinquain, of the American kind, as invented by the unfortunately named Adelaide Crapsey.  The link looks interesting, including the picture of Adelaide herself in a bare-shouldered-with-feathery-frills studio photograph, looking truculent - she doesn't really strike me as a feathery frills kind of gal ...

Having discovered this rather satisfying form by accident, I tried a couple more.)
~~~

Now the seed pods on the Judas trees are dry and kipper brown, but a week or so ago they were still pink-tinted, translucent and pliable.  The legend that this was the tree on which Judas hanged himself, after which its white flowers turned red with shame, is a puzzle to me, as I have never seen one of adequate height strength or growth habit for anyone to be able to do such a thing.  Perhaps they grow bigger down south.








~~~

Off now, Essex-bound, for my weekend, which we are resolved to make the best of - it's often surprising how much can be made of a short trip.  My sister and I are going to Cambridge and the Fitzwilliam museum anyway, where as well as the Persian paintings there is also an expo of Pre-Raphaelite portraits and a very posh museum caff offering what sounds like a delicious plate of Persian-style food to go with the paintings, which featuring as it does things like aubergines, chickpeas and spices, should go some little way towards making up for missing the curry if not the company that went with it.  I shall take the camera and warm clothing; I've not been to Cambridge for decades, but I do remember it being fairly parky - next stop the Urals and all that.

Back on Monday, and I hope to launch into the stretch of Nablo and daily posting; don't worry, mostly photos that need picking over before being swept off to the limbo of the external hard drive, nothing too demanding either of blogger or reader.  See you soon.

12 comments:

The Crow said...

Bon Voyage, Lucy! Hope you and sister have a wonderful time.

Fire Bird said...

bon sejour - see you in NaBlo!

Kelly said...

Have a great trip. There is a type of tree in the US that was indigenous to the north east which was very small and don't very resilient. Over the years by means of cattle eating the seed pods and scattering them across the country the tree made its way to Texas over a period of several years. In Texas if found the environment that was prime for it and it began to spread all over and grow to several times the original size. This happens to be the history of Mesquite which is mostly popular for the smoke flavor for bar-b-que. So I would assume this to also be the case for the Judas tree, it most likely does much better in the south.

HLiza said...

Like the rest I wish you have an enjoyable trip..sister company is always heavenly!

Rouchswalwe said...

What fun! I'd not heard of a cinquain. Nice! Have fun with your sister and drink an ale for me!

Crafty Green Poet said...

Wonderful photos - i love how the angle of the light shows up the beans so clearly in their pods

I enjoyed your poems too!

Have a wonderful trip!

Anonymous said...

Lucy, please pass on my best wishes to the jade buffalo in the Fitzwilliam. I used to visit regularly in the mid 80s. X
Glenn

HKatz said...

I love "ragamuffin wind scattered". I hope your trip is an enjoyable one!

the polish chick said...

gorgeous pictures. i'm particularly smitten with the second one.

hope you have a lovely time. my one day in cambridge was odd, disjointed and dream-like, on account of a sleepless trans-atlantic flight followed by the lengthy negotiations with multiple forms of public transport required to get me there. i think you'll enjoy it more than i did, and i enjoyed it plenty.

Nimble said...

I hope the persian art and cuisine is wonderful. And Cambridge in the fall sounds very delectable. Have a good quick jaunt.

Sheila said...

Wow, I hadn't thought of cinquains since sometime in elementary school, probably.

And I agree that the woman and the dress just don't quite match. I bet she was talked into wearing it.

zephyr said...

Oh what a delight...lovely cinquains and photos.
i enjoy your poetry. And your photos.
Hope you had a grand time.