04 April 2007

You spend half of the morning just trying to wake up, half the evening just trying to calm down






Not much to say about these. I pass by the red stairs most every day, and they always give me a feeling of well-being. Also, I read on Christian Patterson's blog yesterday that the Aperture foundation recently held a panel on photography, and the publishers/educators gathered there produced a list of do's/don'ts for photographers. Of course the list was ridiculous, but one of the "do's" fit my post today: "Do it big—if you can’t do it big, do it red." I do like my red stairs, but the yellow is nice too.

Also, a poem for you to enjoy--

Lap

by Frank Stanford

She pours sweetmilk over me before the sun comes up
Her dress is like a tent in the desert
Her whippings don't count

She buys the young men suits
And they cross the river with someone else
And check-in at Hotel Nemo

She buries her pay in a bucket
Every new moon
She cuts her snuff with happy dust

I trace her butt in the shade
Like a Spanish Oak
We throw light bread to the fish

She mosaics the Lord's mysteries
With scales and egg yolks
Emma is a humming

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Interesting poem. I had not heard of Frank Stanford before this. Do you have any selections from his "Nantucket Period"?

mark said...

i don't really know much about Stanford. i became aware of him after reading an interview with musician Will Oldham, who borrowed the line "conditions uncertain, and likely to go" from Stanford. In any case, I looked Stanford up, and I liked many of the poems I found online. Most of his books are out of print and very expensive, but here's a good web site with many of his poems listed: http://www.alsopreview.com/thecollections/stanford/stanford.html

There are also some moving poems/letters in honor of Stanford on the page. He took his own life in 1978 at the age of 29. The letter his wife includes on the site is very moving.

mark

Karen said...

I like the red stairs; there is something almost comfortable about them. Unfortunately, I almost think that they're a distraction in the second photo featuring them. My focus in that picture is on the mailboxes and the lines of the brick wall. The stairs, for me, take something away from the photo.

On the other hand, I think the photo of the cement steps is really interesting to look at. It's almost dizzying when you click on it and see the full sized version.

Thank you for sharing the poem. I did enjoy it.

Anonymous said...

have to disagree. if anything, the stairs are more distracting in the first photo featuring them. it seems like the separation between the mailboxes and the bush is more appealing without them.