Photo: Amitai Asif
In the mighty desert
Old times loom.
Layers of crushed history
Pressed by ancient rain
By ash and mud
Bones and sand.
Carved craters
Cleaved by flaming travelers
Hurling from
Beyond the sun.
Pressed down eras
Sandwiched by eternity
And painted
In primordial
Deposits:
Iron
Copper
Lime.
For The Daily Post
Photo: Inbar Asif
I am mesmerized by this photo of roof in Greece, taken by my niece (hey, I rhyme!).
The weathered slate, the overlapping chipped tiles that had seen more winters than any human could and many more still before they had been hewed into order by mankind to provide heavy, steady, shelter from rain and wind and sun.
The stark contrast of the chimney stone. Orderly. Newish. Mortar sandwiched between bricks. Standing out like a new-kid-on-the-block yet in truth only relatively … for it, too, had already seen life’s smoke swirl up to numerously different skies.
Even the odd bits. Leaning, slanted. Metal. Wood. A ledge. A mini-roof covered by yet another one. Mismatched and somehow all part of this layered shelter. Angled. Rough. Tangible.
A roof to rely on.
Photo: Amitai Asif
Wedged into the shaft
Rope taut
Legs braced
He peers down
Into dark
Forgoing light
For the unknown
Cave beneath
And the void
Beyond.
Photo: Amitai Asif
I love the tension captured in this photo of partially camouflaged Nubian Ibex. This “wait a moment!” stare-at-the-camera image was taken in the fraction between the two does realizing the human’s proximity and them springing away.
Photo: Kathryn Cameron
This is my second response to this week’s photo-challenge. However, I post it not for me but in memory of the photographer who’d taken it, Kathryn Cameron. This week marks five years since her passing and she is deeply missed by all who knew her. I know she’s thought of every single day.
Kathryn had sent me this photo of Swiss Chard from that day’s Farmer’s Market haul. She was washing the greens and something about that leaf’s structure and composition led her to position it on the window-sill and photograph it.
Beyond the stunning beauty of this natural masterpiece of leaf, I remember finding the pink veins as somehow representative of the tenacious carriers of both nutrients and chemotherapy inside Kathryn, who at the time was battling a recurrence of the cancer that would not long after take her life. The vibrant green and light shining through mirrored Kathryn’s indomitable spirit and her love of nature and all growing, flowering, living things. The leaf, placed against the sky, became a miniature Tree of Life, the manifestation of her loving heart and dedication to healing pain and trauma, offering succor, and living as a compassionate soul upon this earth. Now in the beyond.
This post is for you, Kathryn.
I love you more.
Photo: Amitai Asif
At first glance I wasn’t sure what had made my nephew stop to snap this photo of a monochromatic, drab dry bulb laying on the ground. Then I took another look and understood: in it lay the promise; the potential stored; the strength of tender yet tenacious tendril roots that had worked to nourish the more glamorous aspects of whatever plant this had been and maybe still was. Curiosity raised my eyebrows for the few seconds it took me to realize which side of this natural structure was ‘up’ or ‘down.’ I found myself pondering the mysteries and histories held by this brown bulb – now bare and barren on dry dirt – in the rain it had drunk and energies it had generated and the earthworms that had undulated around it … in the story as it would be told by the few leaves still left clinging, dry but home.
How incredible. How incredibly mundane. How marvelously so.
Central Park reservoir; Photo: Na’ama Yehuda
People are often surprised that an expanse of blue water in the middle of Manhattan is iconic NYC, and yet … there it is, the Central Park reservoir, perched at the upper half of the massive park like the pit of an avocado. Built in 1860, the 40 feet deep reservoir holds a billion gallons of water. Locals use the 1.58 miles running/walking track around the reservoir for their daily exercise (and might frown at you if you disregard the signage to follow a counter-clockwise direction, or bring your bikes or pets or strollers onto the track – they are not allowed). In this photo, taken from the Upper East Side looking toward the Upper West Side, the blue of the water strives to tickle the blue sky and the clouds get comfy on and in between the towering apartment buildings.
For The Tuesday Photo Challenge
Photo: Smadar Halperin-Epshtein
I love this photo of an upside down house in Europe for its genius and exactness, but also for how it challenges our orientation and leads almost everyone to tilt their head ‘to see it better.’ Are the corners of the ‘roof’ still peaks of gables, or do they now make the bottoms of “V”s? If you look out from these windows, will the world itself be upended? How do we define up from down, right from wrong, vision from illusion? How cemented are our views about what is and what could be? Are we willing to paint ourselves out of the corners of our mind where we’d comfortably assumed we knew all that was to know, only to realize a whole world still awaits in readiness to shake our understanding?
For The Photo Challenge
Central Park NYC, Photo: Na’ama Yehuda
In the heat of summer,
‘Neath a lamp
O’er green
Park’s ablush
Tickled pink.
Tuesday’s Photo Challenge
Sunrise; Photo: Na’ama Yehuda
Light paints day on still waters
Sparkles wavelets of promise
In soft whispers
Mild surf:
Today born.
Rise and shine:
It is morn.
A place to improve my writing skills, and that's all.
We're not thriving, we're creatively photosynthesizing under duress.
History of the Bloomingdale area on Manhattan's Upper West Side
A creative miscellany of mythic fantasies
a weekly flash fiction prompt inspired by google maps
A community for writers to learn, grow, and connect.
To participate in the Ragtag Daily Prompt, create a Pingback to your post, or copy and paste the link to your post into the comments. And while you’re there, why not check out some of the other posts too!
I can't sleep...
Alternative haven for the Daily Post's mourners!
never judge a girl by her weight
original fiction and rhyme
You have reached a quiet bamboo grove, where you will find an eclectic mix of nature, music, writing, and other creative arts. Tao-Talk is curated by a philosophical daoist who has thrown the net away.
A photographer's view of the world - words and images to inspire your travels and your dreams
Life in progress
Straight up with a twist– Because life is too short to be subtle!
WordPress & Blogging tips, flash fiction, photography and lots more!
Light Words
Na'ama Yehuda 
You must be logged in to post a comment.