Finding Poetry in the Woods
March 18, 2014
Llandover Woods, north Seattle
“You cannot find what the poets find in the woods until you take the poet’s heart to the woods. He sees nature through a colored glass, sees it truthfully, but with an indescribable charm added, the aureole of the spirit. A tree, a cloud, a bird, a sunset, have no hidden meaning that the art of the poet is to unlock for us. Every poet shall interpret them differently, and interpret them rightly, because the soul is infinite.”
— John Burroughs, Pepacton
I just learned about this little forest, Llandover Woods, in north Seattle, not too far from the Dunn Gardens, and I spent an hour walking its groomed trail. Splotchy bark, hanging moss, ferns, bare trees. A quiet spot in the city. Great discovery.
March 19, 2014 at 4:58 am
:)
March 19, 2014 at 7:48 am
beautiful shots!
March 19, 2014 at 12:17 pm
Lovely. Thank you for continuing to share your thoughts, images, inspirations, art, and questions. I am always happy when I see a new post from you in my inbox. I was sorry to hear about your dad. I love the painting of his shoes, hat, gloves, imbued with traces of life.
I thought you would like this quote, I do.
“Remain sitting at your table and listen. Do not even listen; simply wait. Do not even wait; be quite still and solitary. The world will freely offer itself to you to be unmasked; it has no choice; it will roll in ecstasy at your feet.” Franz Kafka
Rachel
March 19, 2014 at 4:54 pm
Thank you for the kind comments. The quote is lovely. I need to do that — just sit and see what comes.
March 19, 2014 at 3:54 pm
The second photo reminds me of Ansel Adams’ “Aspens”. And the color in the last photo is remarkable.
March 19, 2014 at 4:57 pm
The Pacific NW is green, even in winter when I most commonly think of gray. Just now the new yellow green leaves are starting to emerge on many of our deciduous trees. Barely. In a week, it will be a new world.