yellow

Roof-Tile / Plateau

~ Christina Egan ~ Leave a comment

Roof-Tile
(Béziers)

Lower half shows ancient wall with lichen and moss, upper half houses and roofs with motley tiles

A roof-tile, grooved: a hill, a dell,
in broken ochre, earthy red,
with greenish circles in between;
a piece of world, of time a shred.

And then I see: the whole old roof
is such a patch of orange clay –
the whole old town in weathered brown,
resplendent in a tender ray!

Christina Egan © 2016

—

Plateau
(Béziers)

Roof with motley tiles - Detail of above photo

Life is a gnarled and narrow hill,
so steep as scarcely to be climbed:
you scramble, stumble, slide or fall,
you stay below, you stay behind.

Then opens, through a hedge or wall,
a gap, a gate, an avenue,
a whole plateau, a spilling well,
a plain beneath your startled view!

Christina Egan © 2016

—

Round basin in park, with trees, houses and statue mirroredTwo views from the ancient city of Béziers in France, which is piled up
on a couple of steep hilltops: the first view is from the Cathedral tower; the second, from the park called Parc des poètes / Plateau des poètes.

Well… the respite after struggles and setbacks might be found in enjoying or creating art — or in life itself!

Old Town of Beziers, with red roofs dominating, landscape round horizon.While getting lost and strained in the lanes of Béziers reminded me of nightmares, exploring the Cathedral like a giant Crystal Rock  induced me to create the word ‘lightmare’!

Photographs: Béziers from the Cathedral roof ; Parc des poètes. Christina Egan © 2016

Winter Views from the Bus

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Winter Views from the Bus

*

Pink watering cans
lying flat in the drizzle,
dreaming undisturbed.

*

The yellow front door
in the long row of houses:
It stands out. It smiles.

*

The moon, veiled in mist,
floats in the darkness above
the bright white clockface.

*

Christina Egan © 2012

—

I was looking at the clocks of St Pancras Station at
King’s Cross, but you could equally observe Big Ben.

There is no ‘London fog’ any more since coal fires were
outlawed — yet there are still a lot of mist and fumes…

In northern countries, there is very little colour in winter,
so you need to look out for splinters of colour and rejoice!

Zest

~ Christina Egan ~ Leave a comment

Zest

In splashes of fresh golden-green
the leaves cascade down the tree,
a banner of zest!
However warm, though, it grows,
however late the light flows,
still gilding the west,
the promise of lemon and lime
will never turn green in good time,
green true to a tree.
From nascent glow through the length
of summer and on to the strength
of ripe revelry,
the waves of the leaves will pour
not-yet or not-any-more
convincingly green:
The graceful acacia-tree
has the dubious destiny
of virginal sheen.

Christina Egan © 2015

Little tree with apple-green leaves in a park in average summerly green

Photograph: Christina Egan © 2015

It was a poem by Hermann Hesse that drew my attention to the acacia tree:
September (Der Garten trauert)  is online with my rhymed English translation.

Queen of the Night to King Moon

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Queen of the Night to King Moon

I suck the moisture from the Martian sand
and spend myself in reckless rapid bloom.
I am the Queen of a vast sun-quenched land,
yet subject to the magic of the Moon.

—

Wüstenblüte

Cactus seen from above, with two star-like flowers bigger than the body of the cactus

Sieh, vom Zauberstab des Mondes
angerührt mit sanfter Macht
sind zitronengelbe Sterne
wie Laternen still erwacht,
schütten Düfte in die Wüste,
todgeweiht nach einer Nacht –
desto größer, desto süßer
in verdichtet lichter Pracht.

Texts and photograph:
Christina Egan © 2014

—

You can find another photo of and poem about the Queen of the Night, Die Macht der Königin der Nacht, at the entry Green Blood.

The flowers indeed often come out with the full moon… and mostly last only one day… although they do last a second night.

Cacti must not stay outside overnight in a damp country: if their roots get too wet, they suffer and die. I only put them in the garden to make them and the insects happy… and the people!

On Orange Sails / Yellow Balloon

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On Orange Sails

On orange sails
across the ocean
of the sky,
towards the land
of lust and rest,
the butterfly
must toil and flail,
must drift and dream –
like you and I…
On orange sails
I still woo you,
my butterfly.

Christina Egan ©2014

Yellow Balloon

The matching dreams of you and me
are mellow streams of scented noon,
are yellow reams of solid silk,
to sew into a huge balloon
and blow it up with double breath
and fire it with blazing love
to sail across the heaving sky –
for us, the sea is not enough!

Christina Egan ©2014

There are more poems and a photograph at Orange Butterflies.
There is now also an anniversary poem about a Red Balloon!

Gingerbread Man

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Gingerbread Man

God made you of some gingerbread
which over time intensifies:
so that with every year, your breath
will taste of hotter, sweeter spice!

Christina Egan © 2014

—

We Married on the Ferris-Wheel

Vienna quivered in the heat
for our furtive feast:
we married on the ferris-wheel
(we kissed on it, at least).

The palaces shone yellow-white
like lemon cakes with glaze:
we married in the royal grounds
(we kissed within a maze).

That summer rolled into a ball
and down the hill of time –
Vienna basks in splendour still,
my bridegroom still is mine!

Christina Egan © 2014

—

String of Pearls

Your presence makes this globe that whirls
the best of all existing worlds —
your kisses make this blob a pearl
from which a string of worlds unfurls!

Christina Egan © 2015

—

Asteroid

He inhabits his own tiny planet,
a fragment of rock, you might say;
his orbit seems steep and erratic
and often immensely away.

Yet, what you can’t see from your garret
nor find in your smart telescopes:
it’s two of them snug on that comet
that’s studded with roses and oaks.

Christina Egan © 2010

Der letzte Tag des Sommers ist gekommen

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Der letzte Tag des Sommers ist gekommen

Der letzte Tag des Sommers ist gekommen
mit Tropfen frischen Bluts und Flocken Schnees
entlang des ausgeblichnen Blumenbeets,
mit Sonnenschein, geballt und dann verschwommen,
mit Regenschauern, hart und schon zerronnen,
mit tausendfacher Kraft des Krauts und Klees
und brüchigbraunem Laub entlang des Wegs,
mit Silbernetzen wie aus Luft gesponnen.
Der letzte Tag des Sommers hält die Fahne
von allen Farben in die wilden Winde,
daß sie das Auge ohne Suche finde,
daß sie die Seele ohne Zweifel ahne…
Der letzte Tag des Sommers hängt die Fahne
an gelber Rosen berstendes Gebinde.

Christina Egan © 2014

The first part of this sonnet (8 lines) conjures up scattered petals like drops of blood and flakes of snow, bright sunshine and hard rain, vigorous herbs and brittle leaves and delicate webs. The second part (6 lines) lets the last day of summer hold a colourful banner into the wild winds and hang it onto a lush garland of yellow roses. — See also Poems about roses, life and death (a German and English selection).

Poems about Roses, Life & Death

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Poems about Roses, Life & Death

Vase_and_rose_02Sonnengelb

Im sonnengelben Tüllgewand
mit rosarotem Rüschenrand
schwankt sie im satten Bühnenlicht
von Gleichgewicht zu Gleichgewicht:
die königliche Tänzerin,
die Rose namens Harlekin!

Sunny Yellow

Dressed in sunny yellow gauze
hemmed with ruffs like rosy haze,
perfect poise in every pose,
in the lime-light there she sways,
dancing-girl of regal grace:
Harlequin, the motley rose!

Photograph: Christina Egan © 2013  –  Texts: Christina Egan © 2015

—

          The Giant Rose

Gdn_RoseRed_2009June

The giant rose, pale yellow, slightly flushed,
still opens and expands and grows more lush
            with every breath.
Yet its intoxicating scent deceives:
for through her delicate and ample leaves
            runs silent death.

Photograph: Christina Egan © 2009  –  Text: Christina Egan © 2013

—

Crimson silk

A cushion of crimson silk
and swelling still,

a mouth of countless lips,
of soundless words,

the red rose
stands

releasing its heavy scent
like crimson streamers, crimson streams,

until I feel it on my tongue
like ivory-coloured marzipan!

Christina Egan © 2015

—

Gelbe Rose

In Sonnengelb und Aprikose
reckt sich die prallgefüllte Rose
in ihrem reifsten Augenblick,
als eine Frau – in gelb gekleidet,
mit goldnem Haar – vorüberschreitet
mit schwebendem und festem Schritt.

Die Rose weiß noch nichts vom Welken,
entfaltet sich im hohen gelben,
vermeintlich abendlosen Licht…
Die Frau schaut lange, hält den Atem
in jenem festtagsbunten Garten,
wo ihre Jugend jetzt zerbricht.

Christina Egan © 2011

—

Sonnengelb and Sunny Yellow  are parallel creations. The flower in the vase and the flower in the painting looked exactly the same — in their striking shapes and colours as well as in size and maturity…  

Gelbe Rose (Yellow rose) compares a rose in shades of apricot and sunflower and a woman with similar clothes and blond hair. The flower, at the height of her life, does not know that age and death are about to strike; but the woman does.

You will find more roses in the sonnet Der letzte Tag des Sommers ist gekommen.

Anaconda, Anaconda

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Anaconda, Anaconda

Slowly slides the anaconda,
through the thicket, through the grass,
undulating, scintillating,
like a rope of murky glass,
ochre and opaque and glinting,
like a river without name,
or a mountain-range in motion,
powered by a hidden flame.

Such a swerving, sparkling serpent
is the history of man,
each millennium of suffering
but a patch or pattern’s span
and each life of toil and longing
but a gold-rimmed muddy scale,
heaving, weaving through the jungle,
seeing neither head nor tail.

Christina Egan © 2015

Massive stone walls piled upon each other

The Tower of Jericho, around 9,000 years old. Photograph:
Reinhard Dietrich (Own work), via Wikimedia Commons.