Author: brenda

100 days…84th day

Clipped Wings

dreamingdoubleexposure

How did it come to this?

A forced landing, weakened wings

a solid source of former strength,

taking you through 

dark clouds and heavy downpours.

 

Those resilient wings assured your

bodily independence

as you soared through storms,

high winds battering

and pressing upon your life.

whiteblossom

 

Now those same weathered wings

bear evidence of missing feathers,

thinning bones and shrunken wingspan,

no longer able to lift and sour

or glide with the gusto that carried

you through turbulent tempests.

 

Slowly, slowly you learn to accept

those clipped wings, to be content

with nesting in the arms of elderhood.

csublossomsb&w

 

You submit to this final appendage

of your journey, bid farewell

to cherished autonomy

and slowly fold your worn wings

in peaceful surrender.

                                                        ~Joyce Rupp*

 

*cited:

Fly While You Still Have Wings

Joyce Rupp

 

developing your eye I: bliss

Short of breath

a sardine vender

makes his way to the top.

~Ryokan*

Day 3: Bliss

During the summer months residents and visitors come together on the campus of Colorado State University to hear music fill the air (and bounce off buildings) during the Lagoon Summer Concerts.  As one looks over the lagoon,  children gather into small groups as they search for tadpoles within the water.  In the distance, they can be seen running and rolling down a hill with the Recreation Center highlighted by the evening sun.  Bliss…awakens with the sounds and sights of children being free to be children.

csulagoonconcert

Children at play during the Lagoon Summer Concert 

*cited:

Sky Above, Great Wind

K Tanahashi

 

developing your eye I: street

Day 2: Establishing Shot

This image is from the section of Fort Collins, Colorado known as “Old Town.”  It feels as though there is a unified effort by both the City of Fort Collins and the merchants within Old Town to provide visitors and residents a place to wander about in an environment that is inviting to people of diverse interests and age.

day2street

With this assignment in mind, I and my wide-angle lens searched for a street scene that would create an image that was composed of foreground, background, and a figure in mid- ground.