Summer Blossoms and Foliage

Blossoms on Eucalyptus Ficifolia.

One lone Nasturtium flower and remnants of another.

Leaves and old seed pods on Crepe Myrtle in bright afternoon sunlight - showing colours of early Autumn.

Bright Yellow Double Calendula Flower.

Some flowers in my garden - it is lovely to see their bright Summer colours and the varying shades of green and leaf shape. It has been so hot here, I am surprised that they have not all wilted from lack of rain. I do get outside early in the mornings and water the smaller plants before it gets too hot; though the mornings have been warm and so too the evenings.
The larger shrubs and well established trees survive but some of the smaller, more tender plants can easily die of heat-stroke. The weather bureau keeps predicting rain, but so far none has come this way - soon I hope . . . ♥

Louise Labé, Huitième Sonnet

I live and die; drowning I burn to death,
Seared by the ice and frozen by the fire;
Life is as hard as iron, as soft as breath;
My joy and trouble dance on the same wire.
In the same sudden breath I laugh and weep,
My torment pleasure where my pleasure grieves;
My treasure's lost which I for all time keep,
At once I wither and put out new leaves.
Thus constant Love is my inconstant guide;
And when I am to pain's refinement brought,
Beyond all hope, he grants me a reprieve.
And when I think joy cannot be denied,
And scaled the peak of happiness I sought,
He casts me down into my former grief.

Louise Labé (1524 – 1566) born in Lyon France

Eighth Sonnet - one of many translations.

Image : "Portrait of Simonetta Vespucci as Nymph"
"Idealized Portrait of a Young Lady"
Sandro Botticelli - 1445 - 1510

Wishes For Another Day

A tree for wishes
For another day
Of love and longings
That will never be
Of hopes and dreams
I shall never see
Such a tree of beauty
Under a sky so blue
So much it has seen
So much she could tell
Of a small folded letter
Carefully concealed
Amongst her branches
Your words to me
Memories from the past
They have cast their spell
Of moonlight longings
Beneath midnight skies
There in the branches
You promised to be
Wishes have travelled
Through space and time
Willing you here
To be close to me
To feel your presence
Next to mine
Amongst moonlit branches
I have waited so long
I feel the breath of the breeze
And hear its soothing song
Waiting in the moonlight
I feel so alone
By the breath of the moon
I hear a sigh
Waiting for a sign
Will you come to me soon
Are you there in the shadows?
You feel so close
Will you ever be with me
Or forever alone?

Poem by Dianne D ... ♥
Image: Big Green Tree Landscape Free Wallpaper.

Green and Cool

Gosh, I am cutting it fine tonight, the clock is ticking and time is getting away from me.
Saturday night is usually my time for my 'main' post, well what else am I going to do on a Saturday night? Get a life, well that is easier said than done; I do have a life but perhaps not the one I would have planned or chosen.
I have had a few 'hiccups' today so I have had to resort to posting some pictures from 'Free Wallpapers' ... sorry, but as you can see they are all beautiful photographs and are much better than what I originally had on offer.
I took a couple of photos of some flowers in my garden but unfortunately most were out of focus or not centred, I don't know whether it is the camera or me, I would say it is most likely me.
The only photo that was worthy of posting is the one at the top, it is of my 'white flowering plumbago' which grows in the front garden.
It was so hot and humid here today, the heat was oppressive and it is still warm, I should not complain, at least I am not caught up in the floods, but as it is still hot I have chosen a cool theme.
So no sad poems tonight or sad songs, just some greens and blues which have a cooling effect and if it is snowing where you are just pretend the sun is shining and you are feeling as warm as I am.
Some days are diamonds and some days are ... well you know!
I hope you all have a lovely weekend .... ♥

Fallen Embers - Once, as my heart remembers...

Once, as my heart remembers,
All the stars were fallen embers
Once, when night seemed forever
I was with you

Once, in the care of morning
In the air was all belonging
Once, when that day was dawning
I was with you

How far we are from morning
How far are we
And the stars shining through the darkness,
Falling in the air

Once, as the night was leaving
Into us our dreams were weaving
Once, all dreams were worth keeping
I was with you

Once, when our hearts were singing,
I was with you.

Vocals: Enya
Lyrics: Roma Ryan
From the album 'A Day Without Rain'

A Woman in Love

That is my window. I
just awoke so gently.
I thought, I'm floating.
How far does my life reach,
and where does the night begin?

I could think that everything
around me is me;
like the transparent depth of a crystal,
darkened and mute.

I think I could bring the stars
inside of me, so large
does my heart seem; so very much
does it want to let go of him

whom I have perhaps begun
to love, perhaps to hold.
So strange, so uncharted
does my fate appear.

Who am I who lies here
under this endless sky,
as the sweet scent of a meadow,
moving back and forth,

at once calling out and anxious,
that someone might hear my call,
destined to vanish
in another.


Rainer Maria Rilke from 'New Poems' ( 1907 - 1908 )
translated by Cliff Crego
Image: 'Night Sky' (modified by Moi) Free iPhone Wallpaper

If Only . . .

If only we had met long ago
If fate had placed us
On the same journey
And our paths had crossed
If we had grown together
Sharing a lifetime
And making memories
I wonder
Where were you all that time ago?
Back then when we were young
When I was a flower blossoming
A bud whose petals were unfolding
My face fresh with the beauty of youth
My life ahead of me, one of promise
Of the hope of true happiness
Then you might look at me now with love
With eyes that still hold those memories
That we could have made
How sad that after our seperate lives
And our opposite directions
That our paths should cross now
When it seems too late
And you only see me now
At the end of my Summer days
When my youth is fading
And you don't see the beauty of me
That is still within . . .

Prose by Dianne D ... ♥
Image - Pink Rose and Water drops - Free High Definition Photos and Wallpapers

You Who Never Arrived

You who never arrived
in my arms, Beloved, who were lost
from the start,
I don’t even know what songs
would please you. I have given up trying
to recognize you in the surging wave of the next
moment. All the immense
images in me – the far-off, deeply-felt landscape,
cities, towers, and bridges, and unsuspected
turns in the path,
and those powerful lands that were once
pulsing with the life of the gods -
all rise within me to mean
you, who forever elude me.

You, Beloved, who are all
the gardens I have ever gazed at,
longing. An open window
in a country house – , and you almost
stepped out, pensive, to meet me.
Streets that I chanced upon, -
you had just walked down them and vanished.
And sometimes, in a shop, the mirrors
were still dizzy with your presence and, startled,
gave back my too-sudden image. Who knows?
perhaps the same bird echoed through both of us
yesterday, seperate, in the evening…

Rainer Maria Rilke

Translated by Stephen Mitchell

Image: 'Love in the Afternoon' - Andrew Wyeth 1992

White Silences

Once again I find I am alone
And sadness fills my heart
I shall try to understand
But I cannot let you go
You are the happiness that eludes me
I have to let you know
This time I shall search for you
Wherever you may go
I will look for you on all of my horizons
When the golden rays of sunshine fade
And leave the sky in shadow
And night falls upon the Earth
I will fly to you on wings of hope
In the glorious pure light of the Winter
As its sunrise brights the snow
I shall look for you in the forest
Where you find peace and solace
Amongst the trees and falling snow
Look above you, I may be that little bird
Singing so sweetly its morning song
As it darts from branch to branch
Just out of your sight
But dusting you with snow
I will be there with you
Though I doubt that you will know
The air cold against my face
The anticipation of you
I shiver in this coldness
I long for the warmth of you
If I can still my expectations
And these feelings in my heart
I may just catch a glimpse of you
As you walk your solitary path
And you may just hear me call your name
In the white silences amongst the falling snow . . .

Prose by Dianne D ... ♥
Painting: 'The Magpie' by Claude Monet

New Years Eve charity Garland!!

Happy New Year for 2011!!