Here is a seasonal post inspired by Dverse Poets and the stars.
We are now back at Navasola and although the stars and the sun do shine very brightly here I will miss being with my daughters this Christmas. It will be our first Christmas outside the UK and our first at Navasola. We were first greeted in Seville with grey and overcast skies; same as in London and other parts of the UK over the past month.Today the sun has come out bright,warm and strong and with the clearer skies the stars too are shining bright in the very dark skies we have here in the Sierra Aracena. The viburnum tinus berries are metallic and bright. A Sardinian warbler, great tit and jays were gathering food by the house and now and again a butterfly flies by! The vultures also enjoyed the thermals when I was out on a walk with Lotti and Ruth. See post on Autumn for Ruth’s photography and links to her art work. She inspires me to draw!
We are looking forward to finding out more about how Christmas is celebrated here and in particular the Feast of the Kings on the 5th and 6th of January. Here there are processions showing this part of the Nativity story and children get presents.
It is the end of another blogging year and I have been inspired by so many of the links made to Navasola through nature blogs and many others now. I have managed to read some books by Opher Goodwin and in particular Anthropocene Apocalypse and Ebola in the Garden of Eden. Both very good reads and with current concerns about the future of our planet. Opher Goodwin
I am also glad to be linked to Dverse poets who have managed to spark some poetic muse in me. The poem below is inspired by poems by Victoria Slotto and Bjorn Rudberg about the stars. I have also linked to another poet Malcolm Guite and bought his book with poetry for Advent. These have inspired me to write this poem about the stars I saw above Navasola in the summer months.
Stars over Navasola
Above the silhouette of trees appear a clarity of stars
Numinous and numerous I search for one.
The childhood star my father saw I saw.
The Pole star’s perfect North still guiding some.
The wizened faces of the chestnut trees with me stare,
Abandoned olive branches touch the sky I seek to name,
With virtual app- titude we see the lights of Vega and Altair,
Bright threesome pulse with Deneb and the flighty swan.
An owl sounds out from Navasola East.
The moon still hides behind the hill.
Through the dark of earth and sky, wander many a beast.
Summer sounds and warmth surround me still.
Now in December’s dark chill drawn days,
Advent’s hope casts doubts on the prophecies of stars.
What and where is that bright star, the magi say?
How much to know, how far to go, to go, how far?
Numinous and numerous… perfect description of the befuddlement I feel when asked to name any stars. Hope you enjoy your star-filled Christmas in Navasola!
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Thanks. I possibly won’t need Christmas lights!
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ah…the bright star is perhaps in the heart of the devotees…a beautiful poem…
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Maybe! Thanks and hope there hope!
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I m so incredibly moved by this; it has everything that a perfect poem needs! Wonderfully done 😀
Lots of love,
Sanaa
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Thank you!
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Lovely poem
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Thanks!
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I really liked the Numinous and numerous .. a sight I long to see… but here the stars are not bright enough to overcome the citiscape… wonderful..
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Yes, I read your poem before the Dverse linky! It is the same in London. Too much light pollution. I became captivated in the summer as it was warmer to stand outside and stare!
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I love that last line, especially…and the idea that a collection of stars might be called a “clarity” charms me to no end. I LOVE the names of groups of birds (murmuration, murder)…why not stars? Beautiful.
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Thanks, I used to like playing with group names so it just came to me!
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lovely words. Happy Christmas to you and yours
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And to you too. Enjoy.
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Hi Georgina. Thanks for the mention and link. Much appreciated – Opher
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No problema mi amigo. It has been good to connect!
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I don’t know if you intended the wider spacing on the third stanza, but it made me slow down and I felt a hush, a quietness as I read it. It created the perfect pause before heading from summer straight into December. Very nice. Peace, Linda
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Am glad it worked but it was a technical hitch I didn’t have time to sort out! I find wordpress so awkward with poetic lines sometimes.
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Merry Christmas! Your poem has some lovely turns of phrase that gave me some of those moments you get, you know them, when surprised by the delight of something original and apt.
Inigo
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Thank you Inigo. I like the way poems sometimes create themselves around us!
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Enjoy your Christmas in Navasola, Georgina, sounds nice to have some warm, sunny weather. Your poem is lovely and speaks to the deeper meaning that we give to the stars, especially that North one. I too like your use of the word numinous…we can find so much that is holy around us if we but take note.
Gayle ~
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I agree and hope you too have a lovely time this Christmas. The sun has been very warm here, but unusual it seems for this time of year.
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Thank you, Georgina. We are still very warm for this time of year too, even for Florida. Really, I could use some cool breezes about now.
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Thank you too and I really loved your last poem on Dverse . I read it on downloaded email but now with limited wifi can’t link to it. Have a very happy time and prosperous 2016.
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I’m glad you liked it, Georgina…thanks, and you never have to worry if you can’t link up…I understand. Happy holidays to you too and I hope to see you back here in a couple of weeks when we return from our break.
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I enjoyed your reflections about your place Georgina ~ Our winter nights are dark here too, and I am always searching for stars outside my window ~ I like the questions at the end, and hopefully we can find our own bright star ~
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Thanks and am sure there are inner and outer stars to help us.
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Numinous and numerous – really like that word combination! How much hope the stars give us. Maybe that bright star we seek is the hope in us for guidance and light in the darkness. Very well penned. Thank you for the response to the prompt! spencer is Kanzensakura
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Thank you for the prompt or the poem wouldn’t have happened. I had been working on another one but that can wait now!
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When we come back after New Years, check the Thursday that is for open link – not prompted submissions – so another poem would be perfect for that!
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Lovely. Looking forward to seeing the stars when I visit Navasola and a second Spanish Christmas.
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Yes,hope the skies are clear for you and the days sunny!bat the moment it is unseasonably warm during the day but bring scarves and fleeces! Look forward to seeing you.mhave a good Christmas and a very happy birthday.
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Enjoy your Christmas. We’re also spending ours away from home, not far from you as we are here in the Algarve.
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We are going to spend New Year in the Algarve. Fireworks in Monte Gordo I think with some Cabanas friends. Enjoy your Christmas. It is warm even up here at the moment!
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Thank you very much for sharing the feel of your distance and how it plays through this time of year.
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Thank you too for your comments.
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Wonderful poem .. I do so hope you enjoy your Christmas 😄
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Thank You too and enjoy yours. Here in Spain it will be sunny too!
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LiGht of Stars.. oscillating..
always changing.. now..
and oh..
human
liGht
of soUl
aLive
or dead
Alive.. with SpiRit
oF emoTioNaL heARt
alWays groWinG
never
sAMe
StaRs
expand iN LiGht
of hUman BEinG..:)
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I love your responses too, so inspired. Have a happy festive season too.
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🙂
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Beautiful poem. Have a lovely Christmas.
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Thank you and enjoy yours too!
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Merry Solstice to you and Trevor. Enjoy your Spanish Christmas!!
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Will do it begins today on Noche Bueno and ends with the Feast of the Kings on the 6 th! Presents then!
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You’ll enjoy the Feast of Kings, I’m sure 🙂 Have a good Christmas and my best wishes for 2016. Thanks for your company on mine.
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And to you. Enjoy!
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What a beautiful post thank you for sharing
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My childhood star father saw I saw … and it is beautiful. Thanks you for such a fancy words.
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Thank you for reading and your comment.
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Happy New Year. ALl the best to you for 2016.
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Thanks and to you
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I like your phrase ‘a clarity of stars’. It works very well. And it was nice to read about the flowers and birds in your garden, and to feel you in touch with them, as I am with mine.
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Thanks for reading and with clarity! The world around us is so special so good to connect with you.
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