Friday, November 13, 2009

the passion of tyutchev

upriver from my school
- perhaps a kilometre -
there's a quiet promontory
that extends from the city cemetery out into the river.

it's a beautiful sanctified space
that affords the reverent person
an opportunity for
that rich silence
usually found in churches
or deep woods.

this gentle place grants a
meditative peacefulness
that a hundred metres away
is displaced by the noise of the roadway
i use to bicycle home on.

fyodor tyutchev knew such a place
in his own meanderings.
the tsarkoselsky gardens.



tsarsoselsky gardens semion shchedri


i love the tsarskoselsky gardens

late in the fall when, in soft haze
enfolded, as in sleep's embrace
they lie... the cold's breath slowly hardens,
and on the dull glass of the lake,
clad in that same fine haze, white-winged
znd strangely languid visions linger
znd seem bemused, but half-awake.

the skies are grey, by not a star lit...
the evening's shadows onward press
and softly lick the steps dark scarlet
of catherine's lofty palaces.
then dark the gardens grow and dreamy,
the stars appear and turn a dome,
outlined by them, into a gleam of
a golden past, its symbol lone...

fyodor ivanovich tyutchev

12 comments:

Jenny Stevning said...

Water AND trees...yes, the passion.
The artwork is beautiful!

The Weaver of Grass said...

We all need such a place, steven, in order to recharge our batteries.

steven said...

hello jenny stevning! a dark, cold morning outside but inside it's nice and warm and softly lit. i loved the little painting. it's old fashioned to be sure but it's quiet. have a lovely day. steven

steven said...

hello weaver . . . you're so right. my recharging location changes on a regular basis and i guess that's the nature of the thing. have a lovely day in the dale. steven

ellen abbott said...

There is a bayou that runs through the heart of the big city I still live in parts of the week. Actually there are many bayous in Houston but this one is the only one left in it's natural state probably because it runs through the rich sections of town and they like it that way. I actually grew up on the banks of this bayou as my home (not in a rich part of town and not on the bayou but close enough). I have canoed this amazing resource many times and once on the water you would never guess you were in the heart of a big city.

Barry said...

The natural world is filled with such special places, if we just look for them.

I know of one, in particular, that I visit often just for the sense of peace it gives me.

Kind of the same feeling I get from your post today.

steven said...

hey ellen, i can match that with my time in toronto. my bruvver and i used to paddle the don river - not quite natural but close. from the top end of toronto right through the middle of the city and out to the harbour. it was magical and amazing. i loved your story ellen. thanks a lot. steven

steven said...

barry - i think i sense something of a meme here. i'm thinking of spaces that are on the edge of sacred for us . . . spaces where we're available in a way that transcends the limitations of our bodies. hmmmmm. i try to make the golden fish a place of peace. not entirely consciously but as a feature of what i wish for all of us. i'm glad that it seems to be that way. steven

Rachel Fenton said...

I used to have a thinking tree when I was growing up, in a place i thought only I knew about. Then, one day, I went there and saw another person sitting in my tree! Not long after that someone set fire to the tree and then I thought of it, not upon it. Now I find magical places everywhere and don't mind who else knows of them, so long as they look after them.

Dan Gurney said...

My school has an open field across a creek that I use to escape to equanimity. That's where I had lunch today. Just me and the sun and the cattle.

steven said...

hi rachel - your comment got me to thinking about the places i've known throughout my life that were the secret, sacred, thinking, private, alone spaces. thanks for that! steven

steven said...

dan - thanks for telling about your special place. the stepping away and out of the demands of the day is so wise. have a lovely saturday. steven