Sunday, April 19, 2009

Silent Delight


I've been night prowling again. This quiet evening along Fair Oaks was at the same time both wistful and happy. When I noticed the sign, it reminded me of a poem. (I can't help it. Everything reminds me of a poem.) As written by William Blake:

The moon, like a flower
In heaven's high bower,
With silent delight
Sits and smiles on the night.

20 comments:

Shanna said...

The moon is so filled with mystery and mythology as it waxes and wanes. For a fascinating reading adventure, try "Women's Mysteries" by Esther Harding.

Dixie Jane said...

Laurie is reminded of a poem. Shanna sees prose about the moon. I see a song. Always a song.

From: My Foolish Heart

The night is like a lovely tune, beware my foolish heart!
How white the ever constant moon, take care, my foolish heart!
There's a line between love and fascination,
That's hard to see on an evening such as this........

Thanks, Laurie for your night prowls that brings out the romance in us.

Virginia said...

You girls are something else! A talented bunch for sure. I think this one looks like you've gotten some inspiration from Kevin. You could certainly do worse! HA
He's inspired me but I haven't produced anything as of yet. Do ya think i might need to get out at night???
V

My WV is .......well I can't put it here !!! Even Mr.E would blush.

Anonymous said...

All the lights look suspended in mid air. Delight full.

WV: Untye. Let him go Virg.

Mister Earl said...

Virg: Try me!

Laurie: This photo makes South Pasadena look like an entirely different part of LA! I'm trying to figure out exactly where it was taken.

Judy Williams said...

If you wrote that poem - hats off to you my dear!! What a fabulous shot. Anytime you do a night shot with lamps glowing, I have to harken back to Brassai. Aaaaaaah!!!

J'adore les réverbères.

Wayne said...

I don't remember any poems.

I used to know the one that starts off 'There was a young girl from Nantucket....' but I've forgotten the rest of it.

Yakpate said...

It's odd how we write so much poetry about the moon, but not as much about the sun. Is it that we infer a presence from the moon... maybe because we see it changing... whereas the constant sun is less personal?

Lovely, evocative shot, Laurie.

Laurie Allee said...

Good morning, gang!

I'm loving the lyrics and the moon book recommendation!

Mister Earl, I think I was on Hope Street looking north.

Virg, I keep thinking K and I are going to run into each other one of these nights!

Judy, thanks! YOu know Brassai is my favorite. I love night photography the most -- it's a whole new world of light that the digital sensor can see. I think about a fifth of my shots on this blog are night shots. I laughed when Babooshka called me The Night Crawler.

Hiker, that's what I thought! THe lights seemed to hover.

Wayne, behave yourself silly boy. :-)

Just wanted to check in this morning. Jon let me sleep late ... I feel like a different person!

More later, everyone...

Laurie Allee said...

Hey Yak, we cross posted! I know that I am drawn to the sun as much as the moon... and understand civilizations who thought the sun was a god. It's a great yang to the moon yin, too...

Shanna said...

Judy, I just googled Brassai. Wow! Funny how Art History classes, at least when I was in art school,ignored photography.

Cafe Pasadena said...

It's good to see you back on late night fire watch.

Ken Mac said...

reminds me of the old noir I was watching last night with Richard Basehart...calling Culver City! Murderer on the loose!

dbdubya said...

That would be the northwest corner of Fair Oaks and Hope looking north. That's the awning for Pet's Delite, the pet store on the corner.

Mister Earl said...

You know, I happened to drive by there this evening and saw that it was the pet shop. I couldn't think of what had the word "Delight" on it.
I have to say that Laurie's photo has really transformed this intersection. Looks foreboding in the shot, but in real life it's quite the opposite.

Now I have a WV that I better not share.

Petrea Burchard said...

The stoplight looks a bit like a moon. Moonish.

Like Wayne, I never remember poems, just snippets of them. But I google, oh yeah, I google.

David (DevalOne) said...

Yup we were in Pets Delight today looking at the cutest bunnies my little ones wanted to take home. I did notice a "Bldg for Sale" sign on it. I hope the pet store doesn't suffer. It's great entertainment for the kids, well, until the kids bring home another pet.

Lovely poem. Such a well read group.

Laurie Allee said...

Hi again people,

Isn't Pets Delight the greatest name for a pet store? I mean, my pets certainly fill ME with delight.

I really love text in pictures, so when I saw the word delight, I couldn't resist a noirish visual juxtaposition to such a vibrant, happy word. (I like being contrary. Gee, who'd have thought?)

Shanna, you mean to tell me I've never talked your ear off about Brassai? Come over anytime to peruse his photography books and read anthologies of his letters!

Cafe, why do I hear that old disco song "I love the nightlife" playing in my head? :-)

Ken Mac, that reminds me ... I've got to get back over to Culver City sometime and shoot the old Munchkin hotel at night. It's a great old LA building near the old MGM, now Sony, studios. I could post on my overflow blog. It's where all the little people stayed during the filming of Wizard of Oz so it has some seriously bizarre history and looks like something out of Philip Marlowe's imagination. Or hey, Kevin should just do it for me! That's closer to his neck o' the woods anyway.

DBdubya, it's funny that I couldn't remember exactly what that cross street was on Fair Oaks. But I remembered being across from Wild THyme, so there ya have it.

Thanks, Mr. E! LIke I said, I enjoy being contrary.

Petrea, you found the element of the shot that made me think of the poem. That moonish traffic light. Oh, and don't think I'm trying to pass myself off as being a walking poetry encyclopedia. I always remember a few lines and the gist. Thank heaven for my poetry collection. (And Google!)

David, so far I've resisted taking my daughter into Pets Delight. We already have two dogs and a cat!

Thanks for being here, folks. Until tomorrow...

Jane Hards Photography said...

I am getting American Graffiti from this one.I know it's always a cinematic image. Apologisies for not been around. First day off two weeks, so many images to catch up on.

Anonymous said...

This is really awesome pictures....take care..

Thank you..
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