Summer Walk

A  L  O  H  A !

" That beautiful season 

the Summer. 

Filled was the air 

with a dreamy

 and magical light;
 and the landscape lay

 as if new created 

In all the freshness 

of childhood. "

Henry Wordsworth Longfellow

" Come Walk Along ! "

Cloudia

 

" To see the Summer Sky
Is Poetry,

 though never in a Book

 it lie--
True Poems flee-- "

Emily Dickinson

" On the idle hill 

of summer,
Sleepy with the flow 

of streams, "

A.E. Housman

" O what a bursting out 

there was,
And what a blossoming,
When we had 

all the summer-time - "

William Butler Yeats

“ Do not be satisfied 

with the stories

 that come before you. 

Unfold

 your own myth. ”

Rumi

" He had a face

 like a 

blessing. "

Cervantes

Mai iloko mai     

That which is within matters

" Remember

you are as good

as the best thing

you have ever done. "

Billy Wilder

" I long,

 as does every human being,

 to be at home 

wherever 

I find myself. "

Maya Angelou

“  I walk the straight lines.

 I walk through 

the summer nights.

 I walk the silver
 rope of dreams. . . "

 Henry Rollins

" I have sometimes thought 

it would be well
to publish

 an Art of Walking,

 with Easy Lessons

 for Beginners. "

Ralph Waldo Emerson

" Walking

 is a land of many paths

 and no paths,
where everyone 

goes his own way 

and is right. "

G.M. Trevelyan

" The afternoon

 was made for

 walking. "

Jane Austen

" If you are seeking 

creative ideas, 

go out walking.  

Angels whisper to a man (sic)

when he goes

 for a walk.  "

Raymond Inmon

" I dream 

of hiking

 into my old age.  "

Marlyn Doan

 

Pau hana     

Quitting time, after work

Aloha ahiahi ia oukou     

Good evening to all of you

Thank YOU

for walking along!

Please leave Your comment

                              Warmly, cloudia

Punta Della Dogana

C I A O !     Welcome to 

Fantasy Venice !

This dreamlike building,

 rising  from the waters of Venezia/Venice

is the Punta Della Dogana.

Built by Giuseppe Benoni

 between 1676 and 1682.

It is very old, and appears in many 

classic paintings. Here on a Monaco

postal stamp is reproduced a famous

work by Guardi that has been

copied many times

Back when Venice was a proud City State

her ships traded far and wide. 

 Great wealth flowed in to her

with the tides of history.

The Punta

 was for many centuries 

The old Customs House

( locals called it 'Dogana di Mare' )

where ships laden

 with the world's goods

paid their tolls to the

 masters of the City.

 Originally in the 14th century

 a watch tower was built here 

in order to prevent tax evasion.

Incidentally, 

the actual Punta della Dogana itself,

 is the wedge-shaped peninsular 

that the building sits on.

It is at the very entrance

  to the Grand Canal.

Above we approach it from the water

as countless mariners have.

  That is the goddess 

 FORTUNA

 serving as a weather vane

atop a gilded globe

upheld by two Atlases.

( Atlas- i ? ) 

There is much hard work

to bear about this globe of ours,

we all ride on the backs

or farmers, mechanics,

all workers.

But dame fortune

rides at the top of all.

With her weather vane

in the shape of a ship's sail

she knows

which way the winds of luck,

and of change

are going 

before any of us below.

Venice

was indeed crowned by fortune

for centuries.

Now

she is sinking.

Shopping malls

and Starbucks

are threatening to finally

push her

cherubic 

[ Fra Lippo Lippi and  Fra Angelico ]

curls

below the lagoon's

surface entirely.

 

Here's our playful gal,

or is she a cruel mistress?

Evening's descent 

makes even this place

look somehow more magical!

One of those numerous pictures of the pile.

Today the Punta is owned

 by French billionaire 

 FrançoisPinault

and serves as

The Center for Contemporary Art

" . . . As a center for contemporary art,

 the former customs house of the city 

presents a permanent exhibition of works

 from the François Pinault Collection,

 the institution who wanted and sponsered (sic)

the transition of this masterpiece of architecture,

 so emblematic to the city,

 from its eminently commercial function

 to port of contemporary art

 and ideal venue to share it with the world. "

>  <  }  }  ( ° >

In science fiction

often there was a 'Magic Box'

that could tell,

or show the protagonist,

anything they needed 

to know.

Today we have that Magic Box,

it is called:

The World Wide Web.

Every day, YOU

my magical friends

show me wonders:

New York,

England's farm country,

a horse farm,

Kuala Lumpur, Ipoh,

Jerusalem, Perth,
Vancouver,
and Mumbai.

And yes,

your families,

your lives.

It is all magical 

and wonderful!

Occasionally

we see something

that 'sticks'

in our mind's eye.

We dream about it.

Somewhere, on a blog,

I saw this building;

And journeyed there

in my dreams.

This is my fantasy Summer

Road Trip,

across distance &

time.

Thanks for being my Virgil.

Thanks for riding along.

Magic Indeed!

Comment?

                 Warmly, cloudia

Sweet Feet

A  L  O  H  A !

 

Click on these photos for engorgement

" Forget not

 that the earth delights

 to feel your bare feet

 and the winds

 long to play 

with your hair.  "

Khalil Gibran

" Keep your eyes

 on the stars, 

and your feet

on the ground.  "

Theodore Roosevelt

 

" Heaven is under our feet 

as well as over our heads.  "

Henry David Thoreau

"  I have spread my dreams

 under your feet; 

Tread softly 

because you tread

 on my dreams.  "

William Butler Yeats

" Ah, the patter of little feet

 around the house. 

There's nothing 

like having a 

midget 

for a butler.  "

W. C. Fields

 > < } } (°>

Today I'm enjoying

the fact that I am not

limping anymore.

What happened

is not important.

It was minor,

and on the mend..

It's amazing

how the body knows

the ways to favor injuries

without thought

on our part.

As the injury mends,

the limp changes

along with it.

Today I am

remembering how to walk

without a limp;

A limp,

or a flinch,

 can become

a habit

you know.

What other stories

does my body tell?

Do my shoulders still

hunch

with a shame,

or fear,

or reticence

that my mind

long since

 let go of ?

" Life is very sweet

just walking down the street-

not all of us

can use our feet. "

Just for today

let's celebrate

overlooked, common

miracles

such as walking,

breathing,

a companion,

solitude.

" You have brains in your head. 

You have feet in your shoes. 

You can steer yourself

 in any direction 

you choose. 

You're on your own, 

and you know

 what you know. 

And you are the guy 

who'll decide where to go.  "

Dr. Seuss

Leave YOUR footprints

in Comments !

                   Warmly, cloudia