Saturday 19 September 2009

Rainy Day Musings


No Riding Into the Sunset
these days!

It feels more
like hiding from the elements

and clinking glasses
to the memory of sunny days

Back when
instead of running from the downpour

we were seeking
a shady spot under parasols!

Orange you lucky,
having found a dry spot?
Oh yes, that's the New Deal.
You are turning weatherwise.

You learn to see a bright spot
when it presents itself.
After all, it may be the brightest one

in this Sea of Gray
navigated only
by the occasional defiantly bright umbrella sail,
sunny days are all but memories.

Not unlike Vincent Van Gogh's
"Hospital at Saint-Remy",
whose fading yellows
bear but the faintest glint
of his happy corn stook yellows.

In Praise of Idleness
"Without a considerable amount of leisure
a man is cut off from many of the best things,"
Thus spoke a very wise Bertrand Russel.
I say, justice for all,
and therefore,
more leisure for umbrellas too!

So then,
to everyone's pleasure,
let's put the umbrella to rest
in its stand by the threshold,
and pour some tea from the pot,
all in the name of
the wise use of leisure!

*

First published
September 2008
Images and Text
(c) by Merisi

25 comments:

  1. Ah but we need the rain, here...so I've not complained about the last four days of cloudy and drizzly weather! Lovely lovely photos!
    Sandi
    PS
    cooking chicken and dumplings, fried cornbread with a side of rutabagas and neckbones ,..wish you were here!

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  2. THis is one of my favorite posts! Love the umbrellas. Usually in my city they are black and so just darker than the gray sky.

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  3. The only bright spot is that umbrellas are rather pretty and cast exotic shadows.
    Sunny and lovely here,,,,,,but we have had lots of rain this summer.
    Happy weekend

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  4. A charming post!I love the congregation of bright umbrellas!

    And oh, Merisi, I've finally done it. My new Nikon D90 arrived yesterday!! Many thanks for giving me that shove toward a SLR!!

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  5. It is amazing how colors just jump out on a grey day. Enjoy the colors and a cup of tea today.

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  6. It's lovely (for me) to see some gray skies and rain! Maybe you'd like to send a little over here? I'll trade you for some sunshine!

    What a cute little group in that last photo! I love that teeny, tiny teapot....

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  7. The nice thing about rain in the fall is that it keeps the frost away. A second reason is to come inside to have a nice pot of tea or a cup of hot chocolate!

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  8. I'll take that ENTIRE collection of checkered umbrellas in the first image. I think I'll hang them on a string above the front door.

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  9. Merisi...I love the playfulness of this post...and the photographs of the umbrellas are so crisp, colorful and appealing!! As always, your posts are a delightful combination of prose, poetry and photography...a beautiful blend...I wanted to let you know that I've had some setbacks on the health front, and so may not be able to comment as often as I have in the past...but that doesn't mean I am not reading, viewing and soaking up the beauty of your blog...Your blog brings sunshine to my days!! With much love, Janine XO

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  10. we could do with rain here!

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  11. Your artist's eye fascinates me. Your ability to juxtapose art with the everyday is amazing, like the photo of the Platz with Van Gogh and the umbrellas.

    Wow!

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  12. You are so talented. I love the way you paint the story-of-the-day with photos and carefully chosen words.
    LL

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  13. Very, very, very nice. I luv how you focused on the wine in the goblet. Lovely theme– beautiful work.

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  14. Some really beautiful and lovely shots !! Simply awesome..:)..Unseen Rajasthan

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  15. This was a lovely post! I love rainy days and colorful umbrellas and sitting in cafes to stay out of the rain. And the leisure to enjoy such things.

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  16. Good morning from Rome! :-)

    Imagine, it rained overnight! Quite lovely, as now the sun's back and the air a little cooler - autumn in the air in Rome, after all.

    I cannot thank you enough for your generous comments. I truly savour each and every one of them, you all have not only brought many a smile to my face, but also have kept me going when I thought I'll throw the towel, er, camera!

    A wonderful Sunday to all of you, wherever you are,
    Merisi

    .

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  17. Wet shiny pavements, colourful umbrellas, elegant cafes and wine drinkers. How I love your pictures, that steet scene from above affects me, stirs a memory, a bit sad...mother's high heels tapping off into the distance.

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  18. Rome, sound like a fun place to shoot photos. As for the rainy day, use it to plan a wild adventure.

    www.thequietone.net

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  19. A cafe tray as umbrella!
    I could go for that...
    Love to get a closer look at that one..lovely post even if it is raining...

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  20. Andre Veloux21 September, 2009

    Maybe it's because I am English, but I just love umbrellas! And rain.

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  21. Love the 1st picture with the umbrellas !!

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  22. This is a fabulous post..great photos. I just saw Andre's comment above..but Maybe...its because I am English that I DON'T like umbrellas or rain..!! I like the umbrellas, that you can see out of..I am forver bumping into people, so I tend not to use one at all..!

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  23. Sorry the sunny days are over for you. But aaah, you're in Rome! Hope to see some pics from there:)

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  24. I don't know what it is about this post... perhaps it's all the shots by the Albertina and Oper which I used to pass daily, or perhaps it's the slow, reflective feeling that comes with dreary rainy days, or perhaps it's just my lack of sleep... but this post might have made me more nostalgic than any other since I first discovered your blog, stirring up the old memories and homesickness for Wien. Thank you. :)

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