Postcards from Paradise: Briefly it Enters, and Briefly Speaks


Briefly It Enters, and Briefly Speaks
 Octavio Ocampo “Mouth of the Flower”
I am the blossom pressed in a book,
found again after two hundred years. . . .
“Buddha” by Octavio Ocampo

I am the maker, the lover, and the keeper. . . . 
Wakeful Rabbit by Maggie Taylor

When the young girl who starves sits down to a 
table she will sit beside me. . . . 


 I am food on the prisoner's plate. . .
 

I am water rushing to the wellhead, filling the pitcher until it spills. . . .


The Patient Gardener by Maggie Taylor

I am the patient gardener of the dry and weedy garden. . . .

I’m Grown Up Now by Maggie Taylor

I am the stone step, the latch, and the working hinge. . . .

David LaChapelle

I am the heart contracted by joy. . .


the longest hair, white before the rest. . . .

Many Pretty Things by Maggie Taylor


I am there in the basket of fruit presented to the widow. . . .


 Ecstasy of lilies by Octavio Ocampo
I am the musk rose opening unattended, the fern on the boggy summit. . . .
Kiss of the Sea by Octavio Ocampo


I am the one whose love overcomes you, already with you when you think to call my name. . . .

~Jane Kenyon

(collected Poems 2005)

More about Jane Kenyon’s life here

For more Postcards from Paradise Please go to Recuerda mi Corazon for a heavenly experience!

Comments

  1.  oh noelle,stunning! you have taken me on a  journey. each view into the layers of a life lived straight from the heart. ....jane kenyon? i am off to know more of her. love love love each word offered here, each postcard from the soul.

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  2. Magical Mystical TeacherMay 15, 2011 at 10:29 AM

    Dear Noelle,

    I stumbled across the poems of Jane Kenyon quite by accident about four years ago. (Accident? Providence, probably!) It was love at first word. Your images complement Jane's words beautifully...so much so that tears spring to my eyes. Thank you.

    MMT

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  3. I am so glad that they resonate with you so completely. I too am moved
    utterly by them. I found her book of poems in Borders as it was closing its
    doors permanently. I was so happy to have found her myself--like an answered
    prayer.
    xo,
    Noelle

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  4.  Thanks, Noelle. I pulled Jane Kenyon's 2005 collection from my shelf and will immerse myself in her brilliance. And Octavio Ocampo -- oh my!

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  5. So beautiful Noelle.  I feel kissed by the daisy, the sunlight, and the sea. 

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  6. Thank you rebecca dear. I added a link about Jane Kenyon for you at the
    bottom. She was an amazing poet who died very young in her 40's, but not
    without leaving us so much beauty. She was married to Donald Hall, also a
    well known poet. I am so glad you love her as I do.
    xoxo,
    Noelle

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  7. And you are, Annie, every day!
    xo,
    Noelle

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  8. Reading this  with the images you added spoke to my soul. So beautiful Noelle. Thank you!

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  9. Beautiful Noelle, always giving,'casting your bread on many waters' may it return to you 'seven fold'.Sue x

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  10.  i read some of her bio, noelle... and she seems to be reaching out, in this poem, to the darkness we all share  at one point or another, in this imperfect world... reaching out of her own darkness to touch us with the love and beauty of her words.

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  11. Yes les. She suffered with depression for a long time. I think that many
    poets use their own words as a source of healing for themselves and for
    others. It is a way to reach out and to truly be seen all at once. You are
    such a healer as well my friend.
    Xoxo
    Noelle

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  12. Thank you dear Sue. And you as well.
    Love,
    Noelle x 

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  13.  Thank you Gemma. So very glad it did!
    xo,
    Noelle

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  14. I figured you would have a Jane Kenyon volume somewhere, Meri. You are a woman of such taste and sensitivity!
    xoxo,
    Noelle 

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  15.  What gorgeous photos to go alongside this poetry. I do love Jane Kenyon -- and her life with Donald Hall is forever romantic in their poetry! I am curious how you find all the photos that you post -- do you collect them -- surf the internet -- what is your process?

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