Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Wednesday Corner View -- a little late


Today's Corner View theme is : Place of Quiet Reflection. I had every intention of taking some photos of the place where I take yoga, but I didn't get a chance to go over there today. Sophie took some kind of power nap -- literally eight or so hours today -- so I stayed here, at home and had a lot of, well, quiet time and reflection.

Right here, in my bedroom.

That's a New York Review of Books lying there and it occurred to me as I devoured it today (the article about the crazy, neurotic James family), that it's a sort of literary Vanity Fair Magazine. And that would absolve me of any snobbery, right?

Then there's this, hanging to the right of my side of the bed:

Something from the days of being up all night with my babies.

I love my bed, my bedroom and I spend a lot of hours reading here and just thinking. But it's a small house and it's not ever really peaceful. Notice what's lying on the bed:


My sons love to walk around with that popgun, just making the obnoxious noise, spoiling my peace and quiet. Then when I yell at them to stop, they drop it on my bed.

Here are a few lines from a favorite poem by the Italian poet Eugenio Montale:
...
The eyes cast round,
the mind seeks harmonizes disunites
in the perfume that expands
when day most languishes.
Silences in which one sees
in each departing human shadow
some dislodged Divinity.
But the illusion wanes and time returns us
to our clamorous cities where the blue
appears
only in patches, high up, among the gables.
Then rain falls wearying the earth,
the winter tedium weighs on the roofs,
the light grows miserly, bitter the soul.
When one day through a half-shut gate,
among the leafage of a court
the yellows of the lemon blaze
and the heart's ice melts
and songs
pour into the breast
from golden trumpets of solarity.

--from The Lemon Trees (I Limoni)

For more Corner Views go to Jane at Spain Daily.

18 comments:

  1. I enjoyed the tour of where you reflect ... when the pop gun isn't present!

    Thanks for the lovely poem too...

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  2. What a beautiful bedroom! And yes, serene without the pop gun! Such is life with kids, right?

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  3. Funny, sweet and... poetic corner !! Thanks !

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  4. oh oh the pop gun. just seeing it makes the noise in my head. fun if you're doing it; crazy if your not. thanks for visiting my corner. please stop by again, as I'm trying to post daily. loved the poem

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  5. Beautiful poem! Oh, for more time to just chill... the never ending words of us mothers... Love your bedding too!

    Happy Day!

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  6. I love those pillows. Did you make them or have them made? The fabric is lovely.

    And who doesn't have a popgun in their bed? I thought we all did.

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  7. You have a great bedroom, it seems like a good place for quiet reflection.

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  8. Laura-Hell, no, I didn't make the pillows. I am not crafty and have not the slightest inclination to be so. They were a gift from my mother, bless her. Because I love them so much.

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  9. Love your space!! I too use the bedroom as my spot to breathe!! Oh and the pop gun - ackkkk we have a couple of those too! I totaly get the no quiet thing - at this moment I have 9 children here from 2 to 17 - yikes - no peace today!! Hugs, Sarah

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  10. Hello Darling! Stopping by to tell you that your bed is devine and you won the photo challenge on my blog! You lucky girl you! Please email me about customizing your rings. I will need your ring size and what you would like your rings to say. Congratuations!

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  11. Your bedroom is so bright and cozy. I spy a vintage tablecloth on your headboard, what a nice touch!

    My word verification is 'bedness' I kid you not!

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  12. Your lovely peaceful (popgun aside) bedroom made me want to take a picture of mine. IEP and medical files piled high, clothes flung over the chair, unmade bed. It does have potential -- I just never get to it. How DO you?

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  13. Mary--I am a neatnik. I'm really, really neat. I have organised clutter all over my little house. As a start, get rid of that IEP in your bedroom -- not something you should have anywhere near your subconscious!

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  14. Looks so relaxing...even with the noise maker front and center.

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  15. beautiful bedroom space to reflect and dream and read... and the pop gun, yeah my brother had one of those... my m other used to always wonder aloud who the heck had given him that thing.... thanks for visiting!

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  16. your bedroom does look like a haven. love the pillows! thanks for sharing elizabeth. i´m off to read the days i´ve missed. happy weekend!

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