I typed “a hook” into the Google search box and was surprised to see that the first auto-complete option was “a hook in writing”.
At the moment, I have no idea of how to grab my readers’ attention half as effectively as this photo is likely to, nor do I have any ideas for a poem that might be hung alongside the image.
So I guess I’ll just have to leave you all in suspense…
Yesterday at 9am it was still so dark I was hardly able to see whether the garden was still there or whether it had either disappeared under flood-water or been blown away by the wind. Today, though, at around 8:30am:
Early morning mountains sprawl
pink-blanketed
on the horizon
La inmaculada, 2012
In the orchard, you
are busy pruning
and tending a bonfire.
In the kitchen, the toaster
fails to pop; I offer up
my own burnt offering
to the Virgin.
In fact – as far as I know – Spain has no tradition of sacrificial fires to celebrate the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, but most of the ‘clouds’ in the photo are really bonfire smoke, which does make me wonder.
There’s a longer poem for la Inmaculada, posted a couple of years ago, which was inspired by the painting by Tiépolo.
At this time of year, all round the valley, everyone is busy pruning trees and vines and making the most of the dry weather for bonfires. The clouds, mist and smoke all blend and it’s impossible to tell which it is hanging in the still air.
Bonfire after pruning;
at nightfall, the green wood
is still singing
They promised us a week of rain, starting last Saturday, and I was really rather looking forward to it. In fact, although it’s definitely not as hot as it was, this is probably the most cloud we’ve seen:
don't confuse the narrator 