April 18, 2017 Poem: “City Rain” (After “Spring Showers” by Alfred Stieglitz, Circa 1900)


City Rain
after “Spring Showers,” circa 1900, by Alfred Stieglitz

These delicate mists
soften almost everything—
stones, concretes, bricks.

The old woman
in a black hat
bends
toward pavement;
the pavement shines
like the surface
of a lake, a lake ringed
by buildings
shimmering like hills.

Everything
seems to dissolve~
except this singular
sapling,
its slender trunk
rocketing
out from
a circle
of black iron,
firing
dark clouds,
explosions
of new buds,
fresh-inked on
this silver sky.

Leslie Schultz

It is raining here today, and I thought I would try a double imitation. Here is a poem inspired by a lovely New York image from more than a hundred years ago with, I think, the distinctive look of a Japanese brush painting. To see a digital image of one print of this evocative photographic capture by Alfred Stieglitz in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, click HERE.

Meanwhile, my more prosaic–and sun-drenched–black and white image, taken a couple of blocks from my house, is below.

Hoping your day holds joy in all weathers-Leslie

Check out other participants at the NaPoWriMo Challenge 2017 home site!

Check out other participants at the NaPoWriMo Challenge 2017 home site!

 

6 thoughts on “April 18, 2017 Poem: “City Rain” (After “Spring Showers” by Alfred Stieglitz, Circa 1900)

  1. A very good eye and a pretty wonderfully attuned ear, as well! Thank you for your astute reading, Jan.

  2. What a stunning photo by AS. Your poem is moody and evocative. I like that the sapling is “rocketing” and “firing.” Your black & white image has a human profile in it–delightful.

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