Saturday, July 5, 2008

Blue Hydrangea


Rainer Maria Rilke


Just like the last green in a colour pot
So are these leaves, withered and wrecked
Behind the flower umbels, which reflect
A hue of blue only, more they do not.

Reflections are tear-stained, inaccurate,
As if they were about to cease,
And like old blue notepaper sheets
They wear some yellow, grey and violet,

Washed-out like on a children's apron,
Outworn and now no more in use:
We contemplate a small life's short duration.

But suddenly some new blue seemingly is seen 
In just one umbel, and we muse
Over a moving blue delighting in the green.

Translation © by Guntram Deichsel, 2003-12-03

16 comments:

Laura ~Peach~ said...

purty pics!
Happy sunday to ya!

Mrs. G. said...

Hydrangea and gardenias are my favorite flowers.

Liz said...

Pretty!

Daryl said...

So apropos .. both words and images for such a day

:-Daryl

Chesapeake Bay Woman said...

I'm not sure if it's the picture, the poem or my PMS or perimenopause, or all of the above, but this seriously brought tears to my eyes-- it's so beautiful.

holly said...

love the photo, love the lines.

me now tagging you is sure to produce
whines.

okay, the pentameter is off, but the rhyme still comes across, right?

and as per the rules of the tag : pththththth.

Bear Naked said...

Such beautiful flowers.
And the poem is wonderful.
Happy Sunday

Bear((( )))

Lisa said...

Man, are these pictures you take really all from your backyard? You are such an artistic person!

Caution/Lisa said...

Oh! to have that ability with words!

Mary said...

Oh I love hydrangeas -- they remind me of my husband's grandmother, who had beautiful ones in her backyard. Yours are gorgeous! Hope you had a nice weekend... several t-storms here, and TOO muggy!
xoxo,
Mary

abb said...

WHERE have I been??? I'm having a bad day as I would have sworn I wrote a comment here earlier. Obviously I'm in la-la land!

Anywho, friend, once again photos and the words are the picture of Sunday Serenity.

xoabb

MamaGeek @ Works For Us said...

Oh so lovely.

Sassy said...

Hydrangeas are one of my very favorite flowers...love the picture!

Anonymous said...

Hydrangeas are my favorite when blue...great shots.

Meg said...

Those are absolutely beautiful~ both the words and the pics!

Keetha said...

Blue hydrangeas. They make me think of my grandmother's house. Everybody's grandmother's house, for that matter.