Seduction

National Poetry Month.7

Forsythia

What to write about? What to draw or paint?

“What we regard must seduce us, and we it, if we are to continue looking.”
— Jane Hirshfield, “The World is Large and Full of Noises:  Thoughts on Translation,”  Nine Gates Entering the Mind of Poetry

“Suffer yourself to be attracted.  It is vain to work on chosen themes.  We must wait till they have kindled a flame in our minds.  There must be the generating force of love behind every effort destined to be successful.”
— Henry David Thoreau, from Winter: The Writings of Henry David Thoreau, vol 8, January 30, 1852

I think that what draws us in, what captivates our interest and attention, is something of a mystery.  The challenge for me, after photographing each season’s offerings for over five years now, is to keep looking with “new” eyes, to look closely enough for a fresh angle.

Forsythia blossoms strung like beads on a necklace

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