A-MUSE-MENT PARK

Great returns

2012-09-14T07:10:00.000-07:00

Taking a look at the water feature, studded with graceful heliconia flowers, that adorns the passage between the East and West sections of the National Gallery in Washington DC, we observe the striking combination of nature and art at their intimate best. See what we're talking about, at blog.amynelsonhahn.info...

Subtlety

And in the very midst
of endless design you are surprised
by the delicate hand of nature --
oh, this too comes not without its art,
its subtleties a bit too subtle,
its gentleness too gentle to be real
somehow and yet it is water and flowers
all shivering in their elements
that make you breathe and ponder,
that make you step backwards,
arch your neck sideways as if
before a great Renaissance master
and crown the work a wonder.

(c) Amy Nelson McVeigh 2012

for photos please see 3894, 3890, 3892, 3891, 3893, and 3895 at blog.amynelsonhahn.info

Green eyes

2012-09-11T12:37:00.000-07:00

It's not easy being green...but looking back on a childhood of summers spent on an Audubon preserve is probably not so bad. Lovely ponds and gorgeous flowers peopled my world with frogs and lilypads -- a veritable kingdom of green; but is it altogether Victorian to expect that this world can continue to exist? More in words and images, at blog.amynelsonhahn.info

Guardian mansions

When were you mine, guardian angel,
when were you going
to awaken me from your sleep?
It must've been dangerous and long,
but these are the ways we keep.
I see your silhouette always out afar
and now move over to collect you --
where have you been, good green
mystery -- where have your long
long lashes blown? Have they found
a way back home? You've been swum
completely up the stream and no
mansion leaves you yet behind to find
that unnecessarily you follow
on your own.

(c) Amy Nelson McVeigh 2012

for photos please see 3964, 3972, 3979, 3982, and 3984 at blog.amynelsonhahn.info

Brave new worlds

2012-09-07T09:36:00.004-07:00

Have you ever wondered what it is to love, to truly love, and never falter? Perhaps this is a strange new world, beyond what any of us can imagine -- without jealousy, without fear, without envy, where we could be really free to love completely with our whole hearts. Just picture the frail waterlilies as they pass from day into night, closing their little shades tight -- this is example enough of love's ways. Read and see more, at blog.amynelsonhahn.info, and be amazed!

Tidal knowledge

I have been mesmerized
by scenes of a pair, two as one,
united in what they've become.
The need is strong right now
to surprise you with a sense of worth
for what is yet unwritten,
for what depends far past our birth --
I feel accomplished in just one thing:
that when near you I'm the sum
of one and one plus all the rest
who came before, always at their best,
guiding us one more wayward step
to a place where we might breathe --
the wonder of your wave
breaking on my shore.

(c) Amy Nelson McVeigh 2012

for photos please see 3957, 3964, 3987, and 3977 at blog.amynelsonhahn.info

Moondance

2012-09-04T10:58:00.000-07:00

Have you ever seen a shadow moon? Not just the reflection of the moon on the water or on a field, but the secondary "shadow" image the moon casts in rainy weather?
New photos from Andrew, and a meditation on the "lives" of the moon, with help from Djuna Barnes...read it and see it at blog.amynelsonhahn.info

Shadow moon

So inglorious
you fail to overpower
the deepest spectacle,
the fleeting glower of a lost
unchained disparity
between wind and grace.
Just left of the sky and far behind,
your brother couches near you
and dimples tidal eyes,
leaving no one greater wise
but far the richer
for his diamond trail.

(c) Amy Nelson McVeigh 2012

for photos please see 3873, 3871, 3876, and 3874 at blog.amynelsonhahn.info

Flowery language

2012-09-01T15:58:00.001-07:00

Consider the lilies and how they grow...that was the beginning of a hymn we used to sing when I was younger. But the verse from Matthew about the lilies of the field provides great inspiration for a reconsideration of Labor Day: many of the best things in life are free of toil and effort. We just have to know where to look for them. See more words and images, at blog.amynelsonhahn.info

Gorgeous Lil

Fast upon a firefly,
barely dreaming, wasteful,
colored flush and scheming --
how does your garden grow?
The centers of lilies are like
the embers of volcanoes;
look into them and you are still,
mesmerized as if by ancient skill.
But wherein does their beauty lie?
The answer is, it lies and lies,
and it does despise the night
when all its colors are overthrown.

(c) Amy Nelson McVeigh 2012

for photos please see 3858, 3862, and 3867 at blog.amynelsonhahn.info

Night and Day

2012-08-24T09:19:00.002-07:00

What is the difference between a city in the daytime and a city at night? Often worlds and worlds, but you have to experience it -- and often photograph it -- to really know for sure. Our last post from the honeymoon au Quebec, and we show you some wonderful spots to adventure. Don't miss the words and images, at blog.amynelsonhahn.info...

Jour et nuit

As night turns into day,
I trail behind me
silken paths, snail-like --
I never want to leave --
where have I been before?
where will I go here since?
I wander into yet another
excruciating sight.
I fairly hate this town
for having made me fall
so fast in love with it,
and having quite so soon
to leave it all behind.
There are words for churlish girls
who play this game, but Canada --
I do not think I'll ever really leave you
quite behind; in day or night --
we are aligned.

(c) Amy Nelson McVeigh 2012

for photos please see 3733, 3734, 3736, 3718, 3716, 3722, 3725, 3728, 3719, and 3740 at blog.amynelsonhahn.info

Dans les yeux

2012-08-20T14:46:00.001-07:00

Les Mascarons de Bordeaux are important artifacts at the Hotel de Ville in Quebec, Canada. A gift from the famed city in France, they were to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Quebec. Carnivalesque, royal, ancient, and modern -- you can look at these figures in many ways. But we at the blogpost choose to look at them long and deeply, and to think of them as...friends. More words and images at, blog.amynelsonhahn.info

Eminence

Dating back to Medusa
and the shield of mighty Perseus,
your liminal eyes
cast a thousand longing spies
back through a window,
over a doorpost, into history
itself, and asked us:
what secrets are worth keeping?
and shall we lose our tongues
today, or keep on speaking?
Many faces, somewhat aghast,
at folly long since dead --
what, can we still make of you,
but pass along, and try hard
not to lose our heads.

(c) Amy Nelson McVeigh 2012

for photos please see 3784, 3786, 3788, 3791, 3793, and 3794 at blog.amynelsonhahn.info

Who goes there?

2012-08-16T04:32:00.000-07:00

"La Halte dans le foret" is a bronze sculpture by Louis-Philippe Hebert that stands outside Quebec's Hotel du Parlement, commemorating the lives of native Amerindians, the Abenequais or Algonquins. How appropriate that the French, who allied themselves with the native peoples of that land so early in their history there to fend off the invading British, should be grateful to their comrades. See this monument and several more, plus discussion, at blog.amynelsonhahn.info

Dans le foret

Deep in the woods
you can scarce hear breathing,
and the chance rush brushing
of a thigh against a limb
causes a stir
not worth answering for.
As far as we are
we know exactly where we've been --
we are yet home, and no one,
not for promises nor ploys
nor any coy plot that may be whirring
can truly capture it from us,
not even
in this enticed moment
where we have severed time
from its reckoning space.

(c) Amy Nelson McVeigh 2012

for photos please see 3770, 3769, 3768, 3782, 3756, 3759, and 3760 at blog.amynelsonhahn.info

le Pere du Canada

2012-08-13T08:47:00.000-07:00

Outside the famed Hotel de Frontenac in Quebec City, right on the St. Lawrence River, there is a grand statue of the man known as the Father of Canada, Samuel de Champlain. Who was this man, and what accomplishments distinguished his life? And what makes Quebec such a special place? More to discover here, in words and images, at blog.amynelsonhahn.info

Qui etes vous?

A long and challenged history,
not chequered, not without victory
but purpled with the bloods of friends
and enemies -- who were you then,
we wonder as we look at your sullen
face, a mounted statue or in a book,
what did you fulfill for the wastrel French
or capture for their foes? Lord only
knows if times can tell it straight
and we no longer have your own
fine yarns to keep the memory of such
fears quite bright or less than wayward -- Sir
do pardon us our faults and failings;
everyone since has meant you well.
Copyright (c) 2012 Amy Nelson Hahn

view with images 3696, 3698, 3697, 3702, 3700, 3703, 3705, 3713, and 3704 from photos.amynelsonhahn.info or visit blog.amynelsonhahn.info

Dans la rue avec vous

2012-08-08T14:03:00.003-07:00

How precious is the company of a loved one, when traveling in a foreign land? Andrew and I have been taking pictures and making poetry together for some time now, but it was never until we were thrown into a little bit of "espace etrangere" that I believe it became clear: we rely fully on each other's many talents. More details, in a very special blog, at blog.amynelsonhahn.info

Au Quebec

You worried me,
as we stepped into the middle
of a brand new street of the Old World --
I thought I had lost you in my time ---
but then in a moment's breadth
you returned, heart in hand,
as ever, showing me your prize.
Is it not divine that this river
narrowed at its neck was purposed
so that you could kiss me here
and make me never want to leave?
Copyright (c) 2012 Amy Nelson Hahn

view with images 3681, 3683, 3689, 3690, 3691 and 3692 from photos.amynelsonhahn.info or visit blog.amynelsonhahn.info

Our thanks to all our readers/viewers!

Time machine

2012-08-06T15:28:00.001-07:00

When Andrew and I visited the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, the first Anglican Cathedral of Quebec, we were overwhelmed by its beautiful stained glass windows and amazing woodwork. But there's more to the story of this famous church than meets the eye: gain a window into history and thoughts dialed into the future, with fabulous pictures, at blog.amynelsonhahn.info

In a wilderness, hope

Never knowing what to find
just behind any unknown corner
or alongside any foreign path,
with only the guidance of yet
untrusted friends and God's bright day,
such mission never faltered,
claimed its prize predestined
and determined where to set its jewel.
There's no steep virtue in ungoverned
pride but solely in the eyes
of those who look to heaven
to inspire them in their ways;
who conscript themselves, when elected,
to fates sometimes delivered cruel.
Copyright (c) 2012 Amy Nelson Hahn

view with images 3622, 3621, 3617, 3626, 3634, and 3623 from photos.amynelsonhahn.info or visit blog.amynelsonhahn.info

Change is good

2012-08-02T13:13:00.001-07:00

On the first day of our visit to Quebec City, Andrew and I visited La Citadelle, which features a spectacular changing of the guard ceremony every morning. A full band plays, and the regimental mascot -- the goat, Batisse -- is trotted out to escort the new troops to their appointed places. It was a beautiful summer day and -- bearskin hats notwithstanding -- everyone seemed to enjoy the festivities. Words and images galore, at blog.amynelsonhahn.info

Le Royal regiment 22e

None before or since
could scarce have done so well
at marking time succinctly,
rendering the common face a new
gentility and grace, a new
ferocity, as the mascot favors,
love ever endures but punishes most
where have been appointed
its most impressive labors.
You bearclad 22eme, how regal,
how conformed, and none before
and none quite ever since have led
the French anointed.
Copyright (c) 2012 Amy Nelson Hahn

view with images 3536, 3538, 3540, 3557, 3584, 3595, and 3607 from photos.amynelsonhahn.info or visit blog.amynelsonhahn.info

Chances are

2012-07-28T06:19:00.001-07:00

While checking out the massive fields of sunflowers growing nearby, just on our way out of town before we headed for Quebec on our honeymoon, Andrew and I caught a little "golden" inspiration -- and thought about Amy's parents' upcoming golden anniversary. Come celebrate this special couple with us -- in words and images -- at blog.amynelsonhahn.info

Sungazers

Impossible to say,
whether these sun-facing eyes
are those most prized by the artists
of yesteryear -- quite long before
the time the two of you first glanced
each others' way -- but who can surmise
if these fine devices will not
come to my aid. A sun-filled day attended
us, and this day, the field is bursting with love
as are our hearts, replete
and voluminous, catching a nearly
scatterling breeze. One can only
imagine what you two
have begun.
Copyright (c) 2012 Amy Nelson Hahn

view with images 3523, 3524, and 3521 from photos.amynelsonhahn.info or visit blog.amynelsonhahn.info

Purple rain

2012-07-25T08:38:00.001-07:00

How do we assess, how do we imagine the influences that most affect our lives, that most determine the loves we find? Sometimes it's written on the sky -- and sometimes we have to search within our hearts. Pictures and words, at blog.amynelsonhahn.info -- with love to my new husband, Andrew. More on our journeys, in upcoming blogs!

You send me

into an effervescent dance
and never landing less than
two hands to shake me
loose from my wide-eyed dream;
but you know it's real -- I swear to you,
and in the purple night
I catapult and launch
the stars just where they are
for you, brightest in our minds,
sweetheart, you and I are dancing
as we do in a thoughtless dream --
we're different, and it seems it's true,
you and I are real -- we'll live forever --
send me off a first-class letter saying so.
I never want to miss you
more than a single day.
Copyright (c) 2012 Amy Nelson Hahn

view with images P130146, P130145, P130144, P130148, and P130151 from photos.amynelsonhahn.info or visit blog.amynelsonhahn.info

Generation next

2012-07-23T10:28:00.000-07:00

My two nieces, Andrea and Elizabeth, guest-blog and present their finest cartoons for you, mostly ones about their long-haired German shepherd, Vega, and how she gets into trouble. Stay posted for further developments, as I firmly believe the Nelson girls will be the next bloganistas in THIS family! See photos of their cartoons and more about the process, at blog.amynelsonhahn.info

On comedy

What goes up
often comes around;
a smile that drifts through tears
alleviates a frown.
If you can keep a funny face
no matter what the day brings,
you have a gift worth more than gold
despite the winter -- spring.
It may not seem so crucial now,
when everything is bliss,
but years from today your comic sides
will urge, "remember this."
Copyright (c) 2012 Amy Nelson Hahn

view with images 3823, 3824, 3832, 3841, and 3844 from photos.amynelsonhahn.info or visit blog.amynelsonhahn.info

Happily ever after

2012-07-20T09:29:00.000-07:00

On July 14, 2012 at 12:30 in the afternoon, Andrew McVeigh and Amy Nelson Hahn became husband and wife. A wonderful celebration with family and friends followed the church ceremony -- please join us at the blogsite in welcoming the newlyweds, and find out news about the honeymoon, coming soon in photographic and poetic form to a blog near you! Scenes from the wedding party and the poem Amy read at the wedding here at blog.amynelsonhahn.info

To My Dear and Loving Husband

If ever two were one, then surely we.
If ever man were lov'd by wife, then thee.
If ever wife was happy in a man,
Compare with me, ye women, if you can.
I prize thy love more than whole Mines of gold
Or all the riches that the East doth hold.
My love is such that Rivers cannot quench,
Nor ought but love from thee give recompetence.
Thy love is such I can no way repay.
The heavens reward thee manifold, I pray.
Then while we live, in love let's so persever
That when we live no more, we may live ever.

Anne Bradstreet

Our fleeting wish

2012-07-09T11:56:00.002-07:00

Let all the bells on earth be rung...Andrew and Amy are to wed this very Saturday! And a happier couple there could not be. Though they may be moving soon, and leaving their precious Catskills, they save the sorrows for another day and reflect joyfully on the future and on the bloggery that it to come. Join in, and wish them well, at blog.amynelsonhahn.info...

I let you in

And ever since
you have stayed --
a never-changing part of me,
though growing more like one with me.
This thin gold band
completes our lives today,
yet nothing could really bind us
faster than what love has taught.
All the forlorn yesterdays,
none more in store.
And while I cannot promise
a retrenchment of the Golden Age
I can offer at least this hand,
a never-changing part of me,
to lead, to guide, to follow,
to carry on.
Copyright (c) 2012 Amy Nelson Hahn

view with images DPP0009, DPP0010, DPP0002, 1766. 5318, 3193200, 1193, and 32006 from photos.amynelsonhahn.info or visit blog.amynelsonhahn.info

Big downhill racing

2012-07-01T18:22:00.001-07:00

Want to see fluffy snowy white hydrangeas in full bloom? And read succulent words dripping with...no, no, no...we don't do that. We just want to tell you how to keep hydrangeas away from deer and stuff. And also that they're beautiful. And how much we love them. What thoughts you may have on your own...well...you may cherish them. Many photos and thoughts, at blog.amynelsonhahn.info -- abiding coolness!

Snowday, July

If you and I
could apprise the milkwhite
fathoms of the starflights
that go alone each night
in honor of this prayer or that love --
why, we'd be quite out of words
for other things, like the strong
celestial branchings and soft crown
devisements of this haberdasher sprig.
No, we'd never say a thing --
if this and you and I knew all there was
to say about the temper of a wasp,
then there was nothing else to be said
but to pass by and hail, and bow down.
Copyright (c) 2012 Amy Nelson Hahn

view with images 20120701.02, 20120701.04, 20120701.03, 20120701.01, 20120701.05, 20120701.06, and 20120701.08 from photos.amynelsonhahn.info or visit blog.amynelsonhahn.info

Sunrise, sunset

2012-06-21T11:23:00.000-07:00

It's not quite a surprise that sunsets are beautiful; but it is surprising that there is such hot contention the world over about who has the most beautiful ones. It's like this: everyone thinks their own child is the most amazing, most gorgeous creature to ever live. Well, the same goes for native sunsets. When you live in a place, you grow partial to its sunsets -- and you come to love them beyond all measure. Here are some (we think) lovely ones from our corner of the world; we dare you to send us yours! Much more bloggery about sunsets, including famous quotes! at blog.amynelsonhahn.info

How it is

No one supposes
to take it seriously
but a sunset is as punishing
sometimes as the deaths of a thousand
long-lost loves -- it nearly kills you.
One wishes it had -- but then,
in the miracle of a glance,
at the suppurated pigments, one cannot
well describe, not being an artist but a scribe
by trade, it vanquishes
all, and then from thence
every knot and bough beneath them darkens
to their hindering trade; they are
ashamed to lurk under the grander
tapestry above, as one might be,
humbled and yet so amazed --
never thinking one could be
so completely
amazed.
Copyright (c) 2012 Amy Nelson Hahn

view with images 71450, 72450, 73450,74450, 75450, and 76450 from photos.amynelsonhahn.info or visit blog.amynelsonhahn.info

All a-glow

2012-06-17T12:06:00.001-07:00

Who doesn't find a little joy in the beauty and scent of the mock orange in bloom this time of year, in the midst of June? Such a perfect wedding flower, so appropriate for the lightness and breathlessness of the season. It's just the time of year to celebrate the most effervescent of scents and surroundings -- so look for these tender blossoms wherever they grow, and on blog.amynelsonhahn.info...

Summer, abundant

If it had been snow,
the drifts of white, tumbling
from these branches should
have raised a shiver, even
on this mild mid-June morning,
but no -- instead they are warm
and scent of citrus and honey;
they fairly glow as they quiver
their ways to the ground below,
nothing troubling them, still pure,
nothing less for having left
the safety of their former home.
They almost, almost seem to rise --
just briefly -- a breath of erstwhile wind
goes by, never quite
for sure.
Copyright (c) 2012 Amy Nelson Hahn

view with images 3463, 3465, 3472, 3474, 3466, and 3467 from photos.amynelsonhahn.info or visit blog.amynelsonhahn.info

What love is like

2012-06-13T10:39:00.001-07:00

"my love is like a red, red rose..." Who hasn't read or heard those immortal lines by Scottish poet Robert Burns? But what does his poem tell us about the nature of metaphor, and even about the use of roses in literature? What does it tell us about permanence and temporality? Consider these ideas and view some lovely photos of fresh roses from the garden, at blog.amynelsonhahn.info

Simplicity and posterity

How often do we simulate
or dissipate the various
semblances of our casual misnomers
for the grandest of our sentiments?
A simple rose takes on
the aegis and mantle of
all plethora meaning love,
meaning longing, meaning
softness we recall yet cannot
precisely recollect -- it has
escaped us, just as
the languid rose, in her dubious
beauty, eludes posterity:
her skirts around her crumble,
color falling from her cheek
as lastly she bids adieu.
Copyright (c) 2012 Amy Nelson Hahn

view with images 3462, 3461, 3460, and 3459 from photos.amynelsonhahn.info or visit blog.amynelsonhahn.info

Paint it black

2012-06-05T12:55:00.002-07:00

We often wonder why the color black is associated with death and funerals, the grim beyond -- but why not color? Is black really the ultimate presence of color? To understand this symbolic relationship to art and custom better, we have to look to our traditions and we have to look outside of our everyday experiences. More thoughts on the nature of black, in words and images, at blog.amynelsonhahn.info

Lofty

Return in blackness,
return like the void
to this pinnacle space,
contriving nothing but a heart's regret,
nothing but a desolation's joy.
Portents, portents --
emanating mystery sounds;
return to the damage you have wrought.
No one hears your cackles,
so far from shore;
no one fancies your broodings,
but I have an eye for such things
as these and the lofty as you
live sequestered in my careworn thought.
Divide in blackness, part,
assemble like old maids
in this canopied place,
concealing nothing but a heart's hollow,
nothing but a devastation's foil.
Copyright (c) 2012 Amy Nelson Hahn

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At liberty

2012-05-30T15:43:00.001-07:00

Memorial day creates a stir in the hearts of many...but how many people associate it with paintings by Cezanne? See how a day at the lake and a few snapshots from a kayak can lead to a lot of...well...proto-cubist reflections. Words and images galore and inspirations beyond, at blog.amynelsonhahn.info

Reflections (on the state of grace)

Every one of us
a perfect ball of circles,
lurching up from the dusk
firm surface of a limited space,
every one of us replete
and finished in its manner,
whether leaving time behind
or casting it forward somehow --
it hardly matters now to the young
or to the old who see their shadows
ultimately the same, drawn long and lean
but the general reflection we maintained
is the last to leave, the first
to salute us in the morning
and the boldest, even in retreat.
Copyright (c) 2012 Amy Nelson Hahn

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Thunderstruck

2012-05-26T09:32:00.001-07:00

Many poets -- including the great T.S. Eliot -- have written on the subject of rain and clouds and thunder. But how do we actually relate to these elements? Do they tell us stories about ourselves? Do they frighten us? Do they comfort us? A set of amazing photos leads us into further discussion, at blog.amynelsonhahn.info

Dreamless

The man in the mountain
of clouds beats a drum
feared by some, loved by others --
its dignity pounds aloud
each magnifying swell
of the sky's resilience
over water, over storms,
over the fury that would tell
another story of another time,
grounding its voice in the roar
of waves cast upwards,
defying sleep to come.
Copyright (c) 2012 Amy Nelson Hahn

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Deere John

2012-05-21T13:42:00.001-07:00

My father, John, loves to garden in his backyard at our home in New Jersey. And he has a great ride-on mower that helps him with the task. But unfortunately sometimes he can't keep the deer away from his precious flowers, alas. What's the grower of dahlias and roses to do? Put up fences and netting, that's what! More on building a better deer-trap, at blog.amynelsonhahn.info

Primerole

These days what most enjoins us
to hard tasks is not the looming force
of insurmountable goals,
swooping like birds of prey
and waiting for us to weaken --
these days it is more the lowly,
tacit blessing we gain from leaves,
the subtle surprise of violets,
unharmed and flushed as summer rain
against the cheek of our newfound age.
These days it is pleasantest
to know that the realm is protected
by tiny denizens like primeroles.
Copyright (c) 2012 Amy Nelson Hahn

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