Sunday 22 November 2009

Against The Dearth Of Monday Poems


November Roses
from a farmer's garden

A Riot of Colours
Holland Tulips

Rose Cabbage
or was it Cabbage Rose?

Candied Fruit
ripe for the picking

Bright light
in the city afternoon,
running from the shadows.

You too?
trying to rescue the moment
while waiting
for the cashier
to ring up your sundries,
desperately fleeing the headlines,
while outside
everyone keeps on moving,
and the century grinds on.


*

Photographed
21 November 2009
at Vienna's Naschmarkt,
an open market, and
the intersection of
Margaretenstrasse and
Schleifmühlgasse
4th District


Images and Text
© by Merisi

"... the century grinds on"
is the last line of Margaret Atwood's poem
"In the Secular Night"


21 comments:

  1. a veritable feast for the eyes... may i have a bunch of tulips please? tulips from amsterdam... the melody is now floating in my head.

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  2. Well, certainly no dearth of Monday colours! Beautiful!

    I have seen hazel catkins out in England. Whatever next, daffodils out by Yuletide?

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  3. Shadow,

    now I can't get that song out of my head! :-)

    Wandring Star,

    would you believe it that we also have a spring-like day? The light is out of this world.

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  4. Your post should carry a label. 'Serve warm and in delicate china. Ideal for gatherings and social events. You will notice the absence of a "use by date" label, that's because this product never goes off'.

    Greetings from London.

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  5. Love the photos of the flowers! Nature can put reds and greens together unlike anything you find in a paint tube. Those roses are just to die for.

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  6. I think the cabbages are definitely a poem all on their own...

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  7. Wonderful colors! Our day is gray and chilly here -- your pictures lift my spirits!

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  8. Even the rose cabbage is purty.

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  9. I would also like to know: was it a rose cabbage or a cabbage rose? Gorgeous photos, as always.

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  10. A riot of colour indeed... sublime !

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  11. Simply wonderful. Thank you!

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  12. I love so much your viennese flowers !!!

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  13. The open market pictures are stunning. What a riot of color and textures. Your blog never disappoints me.

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  14. Lovely photographs. I especially like the cabbage rose...or was it?

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  15. Bright light,
    Who says it's right...
    Candied fruit he brought,
    The brute.
    You too?
    Take your flute and shoot.

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  16. What a wonderful entry of yours.

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  17. I love the candied fruit--so colorful!

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  18. Thank you all for your very kind comments!

    I have seens ornamental cabbage before, but never one with such a striking colour. I imagine that, painted in oil, it could have sneaked into a floral still life by the Old Dutch Masters instead of the real "cabbage rose" without anybody noticing (or onto the tapestry Vermeer used in the "Love Letter" and the "Lacemaker", among others).

    Answers.com has this to say about the real one, the
    Cabbage rose
    "A coarse prickly shrub (Rosa centifolia) native to the Caucasus, having fragrant, pink, double-petaled flowers and widely cultivated as a source of attar of roses."

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  19. Bright and brilliant colors still remain even as winter begins to creep in. Your camera captures it so well!! Happy Friday, Merisi!!
    ~Allie

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  20. I have just been going through all of your recent posts, and altho' they are all beautiful, I had to stop here and comment. Your outdoor markets are incredible. Are they open throughout the winter months? I cannot imagine the offerings of dried and candied fruit available to you. How much fun!

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