Ripples from the Center

Sharing a Little Poetry, Art, Beauty & Heart

a little wit, wisdom & whimsy to enlighten you on your way...

Copyright 2012. Original poetry, art, writing & photography by Julie SuZaNNe BröKKeN

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

FEBRUARY'S FIRE


February, late 14c., from februa "purifications, expiatory rites", of unknown origin, said to be a Sabine word. The last month of the ancient (pre-450 B.C.E.) Roman calendar, so named in reference to the Roman feast of purification, held on the ides of the month.


Purified by winter's cold fire
light shines from within
licking spring's green sun.


Earth unbuttons her february coat
loosens her woolen scarf
breathes more softly.

Coyote willow's red pulse
saltbushes' four wings 
become my own.  

Monday, February 20, 2012

INTO THE FERTILE DARK






a bear woman lights a candle
cups the flame in her belly
a tiny star shining in the darkness
dancing inside her cave
lighting up her face     
the crescent moon
rocking in her eyes
cradles the babe
in her womb
waxing 

into a recurring memory
of a solitary spring flower


Photos taken in the dark as snow fell at midnight last week ~ without a flash or fancy camera... just my little Sony Cyber-Shot 10.1 mega pixels 

Monday, February 13, 2012

TRAIN JOURNEY, PART TWO


The Land Answers: Return Journey on the Santa Fe Rail 



As I searched my mind for a title for this second rail journey post, I looked up the synonyms for "return".  I was intrigued by "answer". To return, to answer... I leave it to you to listen quietly for your own answers as you take a gander at this visual poem.  CLICK on the images to enlarge them.  I have left them full scale for maximum "ripple effect".  We begin in SE Colorado, travel southwest into NE then NW New Mexico... note the text at the end for a sweet little surprise!

























...and end of this post BE somewhere north of ABQ sweetly, surprisingly blessed by the grace and presence of RED HORSES, a mare and her colt in their winter coats... wild, roaming, sustained by the land!  

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

REDS, YELLOWS & BLUES: THE NORTHERN NEW MEXICO LANDSCAPE BY RAIL


Riding the Amtrak Southwest Chief, Train #4, from Albuquerque, February 1, 2012, Noon Departure:  Photo Essay

My beloved Sandia Mountains...


with crop circles... GRiN!


Train No. 4 Santa Fe Rail Series: Corral
Photographing from a moving train through two layers of window glass added unique challenges... a special charm and context... and more curves and angles to match the corral, the clouds...


...the railroad tracks.  The  midday light is not my favorite for taking photos, but seems to lend an air of nostalgia to these pics...


CLICK on this photo to enlarge it... can you spy the RED?   As I gleaned images for this little photo documentary, I noted the primary color theme...  RED, YELLOW, and BLUE... the colors essential to making any other, the colors essential to making a landscape... and a life...


My window seat had a swath of scratches and dirt so I played with it and used it to advantage.  I didn't pay much attention to where on the map I might be... but for the conductor making stop announcements and the occasional sign.  I enjoyed the mystery of it, the lack of preconceived notions...


...the innocence and wide-eyed wonder... where it can take ones imagination.  Loved this old boarded up church with the fresh BLUE door...  there's a story...


... and near it, the graffitied RED railcars... "derailed'.

And back to the land, the subtle, earthy REDS, YELLOWS...

...and a BLUE teepee?  all the more outrageously hilarious as teepees are not 'native' here!

...just as straight lines are not 'native'...

...but for the top of a mesa or butte.

Butte what do we have here?  GRiN!  I note how the big shed, the airstream trailer, even the old car shapes mimic the buttes...

...how the angle of the clouds want to converge with the angles of the fence, the rail...

...and how RED wants to play in the sky with YELLOW and BLUE as they chase the setting sun!

INSPIRED TO RIPPLE A LOVE OFFERING or PURCHASE ART/PHOTOGRAPHS (juliebrokken@yahoo.com for prices)

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Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States