Early Summer Morning, After Rain ~ a plein air poem for summertime in the City

Early Summer Morning, After Rain

 

 

Stepping into the city

after a nightlong rain,

 

onto cool, wet cobblestones.

 

Into full, floating scents

of moist earth,

thriving green leaves,

the lime-musk

of sycamore bark,

the pale perfume

of a run-wild rosebush.

 

Into quietly inviting feelings

of freshness, lushness.

Everything washed down,

washed clean;

every planting overspilling.

 

Past puddles

in the walking path

all clear and still,

like the reservoir

I circle softly round,

 

but for the ripple

of a bell

from an old churchtower

ringing

the morning hour

across the water.

 

 

Colin Goedecke

Central Park, New York  

July 5th, 2016

 

 

 

 

Picnic in the Air ~ a plein air poem for summer

Picnic in the Air

 

 

Where gravity is suspended

by late-afternoon.

Leaving you free to picnic

or frolic past sunset,

moonset,

at any altitude you desire,

on deep cushions of air.

Round an awning-striped

tablecloth spread

weightlessly,

elegantly

with cold, blushing

bottles of wine,

hard and soft cheeses,

cow and goat

from France and Spain;

wildly crusty loaves

of bread, whose crumbs

drift off here and there

on the breeze

to feed peckish passing birds.

Wrinkled olives,

ripe berries,

sparkling water;

bubbling laughter

and languid pleasure

over the floating feast.

 

 

 

Colin Goedecke

Convent Station, New Jersey

July, 2016

The Inside Passage ~ a poem from the wilds of Alaska

The Inside Passage

 

 

 The upholstery is vast

and varied.

Overstuffed divans

wildly embroidered

with orchids

and scented with cedar.

Chaise-longues

with legs of living wood.

High, wing-backed chairs

of granite and quartz,

doilied with distant snow.

Seedling-stuffed ottomans

fit for the feet of Gullivers.

Fans of delicate ferns.

Headboards of hemlock

carved with eagles.

All carpeted with barks

and cones, and plush

mosses made for the touch;

all dappled

with serene summer light.

 

 

 

© Colin Goedecke

Frederick Sound, SE Alaska

July 2009