MAGNOLIA

"Whatever it is you water

that is what will grow

so always water love,

not fear."

E.V. Rogina

x

JARDIN D'HIVER

Dear blog,

you secret sanctuary,

 hideaway of mine,

it's been a while.

One of these anyway,

simply from a desire

to catch the mood,

a fleeting moment,

the light. 

It's a white light now.

One that sparkles,

catches on the silver ball in the corner of the room

that then casts its spell on the ceiling.

The rays so warm through the window

that it's easy to imagine oneself in the heat of a summer's day in Tuscany,

forget the cold spell beyond the window pane.

Almost a week off,

and I'm taking notice again,

breathing more softly,

feeling a sense of h a p p i n e s s inside.

The kind that calls to look,

admire & create. 

I've missed that notion,

so linger on won't you... 

"I'll wake up as a twelve-year-old,"

my daughter announced just before crawling to bed last night.

She told me she's been having a bit of an age-related crisis,

so I think we were both a little relieved

when she woke up this morning

as per her normal, wonderful self

– smiling, humming, dancing. 

She's at ballet now

and when she gets back

we'll head to an Italian restaurant nearby,

her choice.

She adds a whole different glow to my life.

"Je voudrais du soleil vert,

des dentelles et des théières,

des photos de bord de mer

dans mon jardin d'hiver.

Je voudrais de la lumière 

comme en Nouvelle-Angleterre.

Je veux changer d'atmosphère 

dans mon jardin d'hiver."

~ Keren Ann

⭐︎

⭐︎

⭐︎

A MOVEABLE FEAST

Palm Sunday,

a moveable feast.

Daughter out doing her rounds with friends,

swapping feather-adorned branches 

for easter eggs,

as is the tradition in this part of the world.

Revelling in this light,

spring that is on its way. 

TENDER

It's Friday,

and I'm indulging in

a spot of uninterrupted time

& this tender August light.

By now, the late summer light has come to its senses

even in the land of the midnight sun -

it knows how to dim down for the evening

for curling up with a book.

Perjantaina herkuttelen 

omalla ajalla

& elokuun hellivällä valolla,

joka ymmärtää kuitenkin 

illalla hämärtyä

kirjan kanssa käpertymistä varten. 

SOVEREIGN SEA

We leave behind grey Nordic skies

to find ourselves on the shores 

of a diamond-tipped sea

along the south coast of England.

One moment the water is clustered in silver,

the next mellowing down to a turquoise,

as if someone had covered it with a gigantic velvet blanket.

We spend time with family

over fish&chips by the sea (as you do),

cousins re-bonding,

as they look for treasures on the beach

and have a game of cricket

in grandma's garden. 

In the evening, the air stills,

the sounds of passers-by

and shrieks of seagulls

distancing to a faint blur.

The waves take centre stage,

as they crash against barriers,

white foam encircling our feet.

I fill every atom of my soul.

(Before and after our trip,

Keane has been playing full blast. 

This one filmed on the shoreline of 

their hometown Bexhill-on-Sea,

one of the stretches 

where we filled our pockets 

with stones and clam shells.)

Taakse jää harmaa pohjoinen taivas,

edessä timanteissa välkehtivä meri

Englannin etelärannikolla. 

Ensin aallot hohtavat hopeaa

kunnes joku on levittänyt niiden päälle

 turkoosinvihreän samettipeiton. 

Vietämme aikaa sukulaisten kanssa,

syödään pakolliset paperiin käärityt

fish&chipsit meren rannalla,

kuten tapaan kuuluu. 

Serkukset etsivät aarteita rannalta

ja pelaavat mummin puutarhassa krikettiä.

Heillä on jo se sellainen selittämätön yhteys,

joka jatkuu siitä, mihin viimeksi jäi.

Illalla ilma ei värähdä,

ohikulkijoiden äänet

ja lokkien huudot vaimenevat. 

Aallot loistavat pääosassa,

ne hyökyvät yli rantavallien,

valkoinen vaahto ympäröi

 meidät ihmettelijöiden jalat.

Täytän sieluni jokaisen sopukan.

(Olen huudattanut Keanea 

ennen ja jälkeen matkan,

joiden kotikaupungissa 

Bexhill-on-Seassa

on linkkaamani video kuvattu. 

Sielläkin täytettiin taskut

kivillä ja simpukoilla.)

LE BEL ÉTÉ

Summer. Holidays. Now! 

Rather in love with the thought 

of quietly tiptoeing into the kitchen 

in the mornings

to brew a pot of coffee,

then heading back under the linen covers

to sip slowly,

in the quiet lull of the dawn light.

Lightness

that causes the feet to dance.

Time to get lost in the words

of all those books I've begun.

Escapades with the kids

- strawberry picking for starters.

Then there's a bigger trip 

beckoning around the corner,

with the promise of special people

& striking landscapes 

to see and breathe in. 

My little brother's wedding

in a field in the rolling English countryside.

In the back of my mind,

feeling the urge to just be,

but at the same time

hoping that the sweet summer freedom

effortlessly instils an ounce of autumn direction.

I hope the summer is treating you well. 

What do you hope it brings? 

x

P.S. 

Even if the sun refuses to shine,

an eternal (virtual) summer resides right here (click).

DARLING BUD OF MAY

To wind up a  week of deadlines, a 20s bash and a study trip,

today a drive down a country lane

to a christening

amid wood anemones 

and birdsong.

What better time 

to celebrate a newborn

and new life

than in this glorious month of May. 

Her first name means "star"

and her second name "bright light",

which just fits to a t,

thinks her doting aunty.