Tuesday, January 20, 2009

In which the Fish goes to the wilderness



Sometimes this place bleaches all thought from my brain.




So empty and vast,
The sun blinding.





The distances immense.




my shower very scenic






and not one sea eagle to cross my sky



but altogether five at the same time





at the bottom of the
Landrover, lying unseen beneath sandy surfing feet,
something I had thought I'd taken into the house weeks ago,
but no doubt hidden beneath the many strange and varied objects that live in my car, now crumpled and crushed.
From the Musee Rodin in Paris, many years ago,
where I fell in love with this sculpture
the moment I set eyes upon it.





The name of the sculpture is The Kiss,
but Rodin named it originally
Francesca of
Rimini,
after Dante's poem:
Francesca fell in love with Paolo
the moment she set eyes upon him.


Such a strange thought to enter my empty head: the coldness of P
aris in Winter, the white marble,
here in the dazzling heat.
Francesca and Paolo, trampled by many sandy little feet.


16 comments:

Anonymous said...

i think i know that beach, enjoy your holiday

Red Hen (dette) said...

What a shame its all crumpled. I like this sculpture too I'll never forget seeing the Rodin exhibition here in perth. I went with my sculptor, I was so in love at the time. Luucky that's all you found under the stuff on the floor of your car. I found a full choc chill that bantam boy didn't drink and forgot to take inside! It was the strange smell that alerted me to it's presence!

fifi said...

ooh, tell me the first letter, miss curious!


hen: There is always something more fearful: the missing potato that rolls out of the bag and quietly rots unseen.
I will smooth it out.
email me about the sculptor, I remember you telling me...

Mary said...

That photo of the beach and the clouds reflected in the water is spellbinding...

Like your writing..

Anonymous said...

I would very, very much like to see that sculpture for my self.

Jellyhead said...

There's nothing like a beach for lifting your spirits. Lovely photos fifi.

Anonymous said...

Oh to be warm! I love you pictures and felt like I was there too.

The Kiss is one of my favorite sculptures. I have never seen it in real life, it is so captivating!

Fusion said...

Beautiful photos, esp of the beach. I never have cared for the ocean much in the past (funny since I grew up on 15 miles from the pacific coast, but rediscovered it while living in Australia, and esp liked the NSW east coast and the north coast of Tassie. Your photos remind me...I have to return again.

Anonymous said...

If I could snap my fingers and be anywhere...it would be on that beach.
Wow - simply lovely.

meggie said...

Lovely post.
Secret things that hide in cars, are not always beneficial...or pleasant!

meli said...

so very far away...

molly said...

Where's my comment? I thought I had commented.....ah, dementia! Thy name is [increasingly] Molly. Lovely photos. Especially since it's FREEZING here!! Like that that sculpture too.
And no, you're not nutty. Those nuns got away with some crazy s--t in the name of religion!

Anonymous said...

I packed today. Well, all the summer clothes and things we won't use before we go. It made it feel much closer somehow.

I wish I could step into those photos. I really do. It is a damp drizzley manky day here in the UK and I so long for sunshine.

I found my lift pass earlier from Courchevel when I was sorting out coats - and it made me SO wistful for the snow.

Kirti said...

oh wow it's been many years since I saw that sculpture. so cynical I have been feeling about romantic love and yet such a romantic.....ah me. Thank you sweet Fifi for your kind offer which you can be sure, when I am in the vicinity, i will take up with great joy! xxxxxxxxxxxxx

KPB said...

I'm dreaming of the coldness in Paris for the not so romantic notion of not sweating for a day or ten.

alice c said...

Sometimes I return to your posts again and again for the sheer pleasure of the sunshine and the reflection off the water. They are very potent and I find my mind filling with sea air and small patches of shell sand.