Frühlingsglaube (Faith In Spring)

This is an English translation of my favorite Springtime poem, by Ludwig Uhland:

 

SWEET BREEZES have awoken

Day and night they stir and whisper

Everywhere they are at work

Oh fresh perfume, oh new music!

Now, poor heart, fear no longer

Now, all things must change.

 

The world grows more beautiful each day

and what may yet happen, no one can tell.

The flowering will not end, and

even the deepest, most distant valley is blooming

Now, my poor heart, forget your pain.

Now, all things must change.

Homage to Hector, Breaker of Horses

The Illiad is not an easy read, but I was encouraged by my son Joshua to tackle it a few years ago. Once you become accustomed to the unfamiliar turns of phrase and steel yourself against the brutality (This is after all a tale of war) you realize why we are still reading a story that was first told over 3,000 years ago. It's about Love, Pride, The Gods, Country, War, Fate and Death.
 This piece is painted on wood with images reminiscent of Greek vase painting, I have attached a rusted horse-bit to my composition.

Hope in the Wintertime

Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune--without the words,
And never stops at all,
Emily Dickenson

In winters past, my Hope was for a speedy return to gardening and Hope that the furnace would last just a few more months. This year instead of just thinking of winter as something to endure ( or escape) until Spring begins, I am embracing the season. I am taking 10 degree walks in the forest preserve in my giant down coat, making soup and stoking the fireplace. I no longer want to waste my present moments in regret for the past or fear of the future. I feel full of hope and gratitude for so many things. Howard Zinn expresses these thoughts beautifully:

“TO BE HOPEFUL in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty, but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness.
What we choose to emphasize in this complex history will determine our lives. If we see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something. If we remember those times and places—and there are so many—where people have behaved magnificently, this gives us the energy to act, and at least the possibility of sending this spinning top of a world in a different direction.
And if we do act, in however small a way, we don’t have to wait for some grand utopian future. The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory.”