~ BEAUTY ILLUMINATED ~
(Nature's Poetry)
We breathe in nature, we have a distinct,
Near-poetic impression in mind
We swim, in the integrity of that impression
Caused, by the natural objects we find
It is this that distinguishes the slice of timber
By the woodcutter
From the tree of the poet
This blessed ability to interpret beauty
To hold it, to caress it
And then learn to convey
That Nature NEVER wears a mean appearance
Nor, does the wisest man
Extort All her secrets...
We also NEVER seem to lose curiosity
In unveiling her many perfections
The butterfly, the animals, the rivers
All lead to powerful reflections
In turn, when we speak of Nature
We all seem to share
Such perfectly aligned impressions...
Truthfully speaking, few of us actually SEE nature
Most of us don't notice the sun
The sun only illuminates in the eye of a man
But shines brightly in the heart of a child begun
The lover of nature is he who has retained
The true spirit of his infancy
When everything seemed new to him
And he rolled around in its mystery...
Myself, I have enjoyed a divine exhilaration
I am almost afraid to show how glad I am
That in the quiet of my life
I have fewer social encounters
But have come to understand
That when I am with nature
I am not only perceiving beauty
But I see
That I am a Fraud
Thinking that I am a poet
Or a true perceiver
When,
(in actuality)
I am simply
Seeing,
The face of God....
Tony Taylor
* for: Ralph Waldo Emerson
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This is awesome Tony . Humbling in a good way. Reminding us of a divine perspective. To not take any of this too seriously in the scheme
Of the great work.
Hey VIOLET!!....Thanx so much for the insightful comment and accurately penetrating piece of advice.......humility is half the battle to be sure......I appreciate your taking the time with this one.......stay groovy girlfriend!!......Hugs-n-Smiles!!.......T xo : )
Just got back from a walk in my beautiful woods and read this brilliant poem. Fantastic my friend.
Nigel.
Cool!!!.....Thanx so much NIGEL!!.......I Knew, if you had the chance, that you would appreciate this write for exactly what it is!!.....So, is it true, that most people from England like to take walks out in nature?....I know that here, in the U.S., it's not something that one EVER hears as even a hobby/pastime.......Most people here will claim to go for 'Runs' in the park or something.....but NEVER a walk just for the sake of enjoying nature.......hmmm?!......I wonder why that is?.......strange, don't ya think?!.......Anyway, thank you again for taking the time to let me know your impressions brother!!........stay groovy......Peace-n-Stuff!!.......T xo : )
Hi Tony,
In the UK we walk for pleasure for the simple reason that it's easy. Open land and woodland, with open pathways (some of which are truly ancient routes) always nearby. Always accessible. It is so good for the soul to walk the old ways.
Nigel.
Wow very profound, deep expression but beautifully penned as always my friend Tony ?
Hi JILL!!.......thanx for taking time with this one......it's one of those that I'm particularly attached to.....and your impressions are something that I do so appreciate!!.......Lots of Love to you and yours girlfriend!!......Hugs-n-Smiles!!........T xo : )
Wise wise words Tony...and the lines "The true spirit of infancy
When everything seemed new to him " made me think. Things become stale to us and unnoticed as we age but doesn't that very fact only enhance the sensations and emotion of those precious minutes when we are .... truly in the moment...and so maybe they are a stronger experience because of their rarety in our lives. Such moments inspire great poets writers and painters. Lovely thought provoking write ?
Hi MARION!!......I understand where you're coming from with your impressions here......and certainly we find that as we age certain experiences seem to be 'stale' or 'go unnoticed' because of their frequent and familiar state of passing through our lives......but, like Emerson would so often point out, it's in our ability to maintain our relationship with our 'childlike attitudes' ......where our joy and appreciation for simply being in the moment gives us a more profound insight into those moments......which is an extremely difficult thing to do because 'growing up' is such a natural thing to do that its subtlety is often lost on us .......except, like you so astutely pointed out, when poets, writers, or painters get a hold of that idea and wrestle it into submission.......which of course, can lead to some of the finest creations of all time........also, there exists the TRULY 'rare bird' that LITERALLY never grows up and finds himself/herself face-to-face with profound insights much later in life......these frequently show up in the form of writers and painters because age will still allow them to excel in those fields as opposed to something like Olympic Athlete or Brilliant Soldier where physical attributes are more essential ......Anyway, I'm rambling on here, my apologies Marion.....It's just that I have a great love of this type of conversation/discussion.........and I don't often run into people, such as yourself, with similar curiosity and drive........Please, feel free to PM me anytime should you feel inclined to delve further in ANY such subject matter........I have a blog on Metaphysics too......so there aren't too many subjects that I don't have some kind of curiosity about!.....Ooops!!...there I go again!!.......smiles.......Talk again soon!!......I am your cyber-friend and admirer......T xo : )
You are not rambling Tony, I'm fascinated on all kinds of things myself from the cosmos( though my brain does not lend itself to understanding physics at all!) ..though I worry now that we are polluting space itself as I read that over 2000 bits of floating debri are currently orbiting earth!!! ...to the supernatural to mental health to history, art, poetry music and animals etc etc( and here I am rambling!?) .....I have to read constantly to stop my rambling brain lol...I will look for you blog, thankyou my kind friend ?
Yes I agree wholeheartedly and for myself, as you express in this poem, as I age I too have let go of shallow pursuits that once made me happy( or so I believed) and have found a richness (actively search for) solitary minutes of immersing myself...' in the moment'. I don't believe in conventional gods but these moments have certainly connected me to something and in this way I have healed from emotional trauma. And yes...I so agree that some rare people have this ability as you say and later in life are able to convey it to the rest of us mortals in great art and literature. I believe also that some great world leaders...( Mandela, Ghandi, Lincoln etc) have been touched from birth in a similar way....blessings, my friend ?
Just beautiful my friend..as is all of Gods work and I love your praise of it! I have just put on a poem of mine which has an image of a jellyfish..and then I saw your work which also has a jelly fish!!!...how strange that of all the things we could have chosen we focused on the same.... as always love your work Tony..an inspiration always. Lodi xxx
Hi LODI !!....wow ~ I would have never guessed that your preferred nickname for Lodigiana would be Lodi.......interesting, someone must have given that to you!!??.....Oh well, life has a way of creating its own "Ways and Means Committee" ~ smiles.....YES!!...that does seem to be a bit more than coincidental that we would both post Jellyfish in the images for our poems of the day ~ ON the exact same day......perhaps we should delve a little further into this......lets see....the Jellyfish, in ancient cultures, stood for the ability to bring dreams into fruition through the tentacles of reason and logic...in other words......Dream interpretation began as a result of being stung by a jellyfish......so the fact that we both posted jellyfish on the same day COULD mean that we are two pieces of the same whole......dreaming that the other is a simply an acquaintance on a poetry site....when in actuality......... you are really ME dreaming that YOU are just an acquaintance in the cyber-world........smiles........Just Kidding LOL!!.....I really had you going there didn't I?....Ha,ha,ha!!.......That was fun......I'm sorry Lodi I couldn't resist!!.......anyway......I just wanted to say thank you for taking time to leave that 'way cool' comment on this poem.......This poem is kind of special to me.......it represents much of what I believe in and the fact that you enjoyed it means a lot to me........hope you're having a good day......Lots of Love to you and yours!!........Hugs-n-Smiles!!......T xo : )
I would love to think that we are two pieces of the same whole..thats just a mind boggling prospect! ..needs to be written about maybe?? haha ..Hugs and smiles my dear friend xxx
You & lovely Cherie are always an inspiration to me ❤️?