FRIDAY 28TH AUGUST

A small child looked at a star and began to weep.
And the star said "Child, why do you weep?"
The child said "You are so far away. I will never be able to touch you."
And the star answered "Child, if I were not already in your heart, you would not be able to see me now." (John Magliola)

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This is the second in a series of six paintings by Joy Shaylor



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Morning, Noon and Night -

early morning dew -
teardrops from the willow
sparkle on the grass

cool summer breezes -
shadows of the windmill blades
scything through the grass

sparkling through the trees
fingers of fading sunlight
dance on the river

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"The Pioneer" by the Australian painter Frederick McCubbin (1855-1917)

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BILLY AND ME by James Hogg (1770-1835)

Where the pools are bright and deep,
Where the grey trout lies asleep,
Up the river and over the lea,
That's the way for Billy and me.

Where the blackbird sings the latest,
Where the hawthorn blooms the sweetest,
Where the nestlings chirp and flee,
That's the way for Billy and me.

Where the mowers mow the cleanest,
Where the hay lies thick and greenest,
There to track the homeward bee,
That's the way for Billy and me.

Where the hazel bank is steepest,
Where the shadow falls the deepest,
Where the clustering nuts fall free,
That's the way for Billy and me.

Why the boys should drive away
Little sweet maidens from the play,
Or love to banter and fight so well,
That's the thing I never could tell.

But this I know, I love to play
Through the meadow, among the hay;
Up the water and over the lea,
That's the way for Billy and me.

[James Hogg, poet and author, became known as “The Ettrick Shepherd.” He was born in 1770 on a small farm near Ettrick in Scotland and died in 1835]

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The music here is the popular song The Rose, written and composed by Amanda McBroom, and performed by Gheorghe Zamfir on panpipes.



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I was delighted to learn that John's Quiet Corner had been recommended to stumbleupon.com by a viewer in Philadelphia who wrote "This old man blogger has some really amazing images and poetry selected - and he updates frequently."

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FRIDAY 21ST AUGUST

This is the miracle that happens every time to those who really love - the more they give, the more they possess. (Rainer Maria Rilke 1875-1926)

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"Bluebells" by Lawrence Alma-Tadema (1836-1912)

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I sleep with thee, and wake with thee,
And yet thou art not there;
I fill my arms with thoughts of thee,
And press the common air.

Thy eyes are gazing upon mine
When thou art out of sight;
My lips are always touching thine
At morning, noon, and night.

I think and speak of other things
To keep my mind at rest,
But still to thee my memory clings
Like love in woman's breast.

I hide it from the world's wide eye
And think and speak contrary,
But soft the wind comes from the sky
And whispers tales of Mary.

The night-wind whispers in my ear,
The moon shines on my face;
The burden still of chilling fear
I find in every place.

The breeze is whispering in the bush,
And the leaves fall from the tree,
All sighing on, and will not hush,
Some pleasant tales of thee.
(John Clare 1793-1864)

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This is the first of 6 flower paintings by Joy Shaylor



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This is a beautiful piece of music by Gabriel Faure (1845-1924) - Pavane.



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FRIDAY 14TH AUGUST

The clouds above us join and separate,
The breeze in the courtyard leaves and returns;
Life is like that, so why not relax?
Who can stop us from celebrating? (Lu You 1125-1210)

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“Wang Xizhi” by the Chinese painter Qian Xuan (1235-1305)

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Three more of my haiku -

sketching the roses -
time and time again falling
petals change my view

a speck of yellow
among the blue wild flowers -
one small buttercup

sunny afternoon -
the fish and their shadows make
the pond seem crowded

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The Girl with the Flaxen Hair by Debussy played by Jascha Heifetz and Emanual Bay



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Music, when soft voices die,
Vibrates in the memory;
Odours, when sweet violets sicken,
Live within the sense they quicken.

Rose leaves, when the rose is dead,
Are heaped for the beloved’s bed;
And so thy thoughts, when thou are gone,
Love itself shall slumber on.
(Percy Bysshe Shelley 1792-1822)

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Finally, someone has put together this slide show of 44 paintings by a number of 19th century artistes. The whole thing lasts 6 minutes and 44 seconds, but it's well worth watching.



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FRIDAY 7TH AUGUST

There are only two ways to live your life.
One is as though nothing is a miracle.
The other is as if everything is. (Albert Einstein)



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All the breath and bloom of the year in the bag of one bee;
All the wonder and wealth of the mine in the heart of one gem;
In the core of one pearl all the shade and the shine of the sea;
Breath and bloom, shade and shine -
Wonder, wealth and - how far above them -
Truth, that’s brighter than gem,
Trust, that’s purer than pearl -
Brightest truth, purest trust in the universe
All were for me in the kiss of one girl. (Robert Browning 1812-1889)

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"Madame Moitessier" by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres (1780-1867)
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Something to think about -

ONCE UPON A TIME a traveller was journeying across the desert when he met two strange men. As they were all going roughly in the same direction, they chatted as they walked.

The men told the traveller that their names were Fear and Plague and they were going to a big city where they intended to kill 20,000 of the inhabitants.

Shocked, the man asked Plague if he would do all the work.

Plague shook his head, “No, I’ll kill only a few hundred. My friend Fear will do the rest.”

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This piece of music is a particular favourite of mine - Romance from the Gadfly Suite by Shostakovich.



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Finally, a haiku -

stillness of twilight
the aspen leaves quivering
in eerie silence

[In the Scottish Highlands the aspen tree, also known as the trembling poplar, is said to have magical powers]

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