Green Lake Visit

lillian

I sit
splayed on Adirondack chair,
porched on rustic cabin,
built on rustic site.

Vista before me,
cropped not by gilded frame
nor dimmed by darkened glass
or visor’s cap.

Sentinel woods stand tall,
surround calm rippled waters,
beckon bare feet to rough hewn dock
and yet I sit.

Adirondack sky stretches above me,
bluing clouds to their brightest white.
And I breathe, deeply,
deep green forest scent.

I sit quietly content,
imagine myself
as notes within the loons’ song.
Eyes closed, I drift within this space
and imagine myself to stay.

IMG_4970

Written for Tuesday Poetics at dVerse where De asks us to write a poem that has to do with “blue.”
Photo taken this past week at Green Lake in the Adirondacks. I was indeed sitting on the porch of a rustic cabin at this beautiful remote site when I took this photo.
In the poem “blue” is used in the sense of “bluing.” According to  Mrs. Stewart’s Bluing site, there are 300 shades of white; the most intense includes a slight hue of blue. Mrs. Stewart’s Bluing is a laundry aid used to “brighten whites.” Hence the idea of the blue sky making the clouds appear even more white!

59 thoughts on “Green Lake Visit”

  1. kanzensakura August 9, 2016 / 3:20 pm

    imagine myself as notes within the loons’ song…oh my. Beautiful beyond imagining and such peace. I need some of that for myself…

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • lillian August 9, 2016 / 4:07 pm

      It was truly serene….a beautiful beautiful place. Sometimes we just need that wide open space, unplugged, to remind us of how beautiful this earth is.

      Like

      Reply
  2. katiemiafrederick August 9, 2016 / 3:48 pm

    sMiLes my FriEnd
    Lillian.. the Adirondack
    mountains you mentioned
    this morning took me higher
    of course than i’ve been
    in panhandle of
    Florida flat
    lands here..
    but a share of
    the same name
    in chair here..
    takes me to
    the Blackwater
    River where i was
    raised in darkest
    deepest black blue
    River channel
    of 80 feet
    or so deep
    back then
    as mill town
    ships with
    black resin
    from pine
    trees brought milton wood..
    but now the chair reminds me
    of my Grandmother.. the white
    one she painted there over and
    over across the decades of a life
    that retired early in her 50’s.. three
    of her’s more i came to live
    with some and see..
    with mother and
    sister with me..
    i suppose it felt
    like that chair
    and she would
    live there
    forever.. the
    house is gone..
    the chair is gone
    and with a lump
    in my throat i
    intimate she is
    gone too.. but
    the river is there..
    the black deep blue
    water and a Pecan
    tree still stands where
    my Grandmother’s spirit
    as Adirondack mountain
    of Love once stood
    taller than
    i thoughT
    my spirit could ever sinG/
    gRow.. she stArted painting
    in her 60’s after her father died..
    oil paintings from visual memories
    after her sight was almost gone.. kinda like
    the story of Beethoven composing after his
    hearing was gone.. anyway.. i always wanted
    to create too.. something more than school.. so
    i suppose
    i’ve inherited
    her chair along
    still with that deep
    black blue water..
    and pecan tree
    River that i still
    oft visit to
    feel
    her
    Mountain spirit.. now..
    thanks.. i can’t imagine
    anyone wanting to make a buck
    or a like or a follow off poEtry my
    friend.. how valuable IS A memory
    like this living again.. now.. just now.. painting water colors.. and wind.. for i..
    Life iS iN the Loving.. as chairs gRow old and poEtry GRows more.. on.. iSREALnoW..:)

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  3. whimsygizmo August 9, 2016 / 3:56 pm

    First off: “porched” as verb. Yes! YES.
    Then, “Adirondack sky.” – the flow of those words together steals my breath.

    And then, are you kidding me with “bluing”? (And your explanation of it, too!) WONDERFUL.

    I simply love this, Lill. What a STUNNING photo, and place. There are just so many beautiful spills of color in the world. I want to live inside them all.

    PS: (You need an “e” in your “breathe” up there. Right now it says “breath.”)

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • lillian August 9, 2016 / 4:03 pm

      Thank you thank you for your very kind words and most especially for the typo catch. Flying fingertips! 😦 Corrected now.
      And yes….so many many beautiful places in this world!

      Like

      Reply
  4. Victoria C. Slotto August 9, 2016 / 4:20 pm

    I love how you play with verbs, Lillian–and the take on blu-ing is just perfect. So glad you had such a wonderful time and thank you for sharing it with us.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • lillian August 9, 2016 / 4:31 pm

      Thank you, Victoria. I think my favorite verb I’ve ever used was in a title “Ganache Me!” 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  5. kim881 August 9, 2016 / 4:24 pm

    Oh Lillian, what wonderful images. it reminded me of ‘On Golden Pond’.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  6. The Literary Doc August 9, 2016 / 4:25 pm

    This poem makes me relax! And takes me to a similar lake I love up in the Rockies. Such peaceful words.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • lillian August 9, 2016 / 4:32 pm

      I’ve always loved the ocean — and all her moods. But this lake was just the epitomy of restfulness. 🙂

      Like

      Reply
  7. Dr. Crystal Howe August 9, 2016 / 4:50 pm

    Seems everyone is visiting a lake! I haven’t in years, but these lines bring back memories – I always enjoy listening to birds of all kinds:
    imagine myself
    as notes within the loons’ song.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • lillian August 9, 2016 / 4:53 pm

      I’ll be visiting the blues in the morning. Looking forward to seeing the lakes of others 🙂

      Like

      Reply
  8. Bodhirose August 9, 2016 / 5:05 pm

    I love your last verse. I could imagine myself “porched” there to stay too, Lillian. What a gorgeous view you had from your cabin. I find lakes much more peaceful than the ocean…each has their own energy and “blues” too. I caught your bluing reference to that laundry aid…I think my mother may have used that when I was a kid.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • lillian August 11, 2016 / 8:34 am

      So glad you enjoyed! It was truly a beautiful place.

      Like

      Reply
    • lillian August 11, 2016 / 8:35 am

      Green Lake with blue and the whitest white above 🙂

      Like

      Reply
  10. Grace August 9, 2016 / 5:54 pm

    I would imagine myself bluing, listening to loon’s song and getting stuck on that wonderful rustic area. If only, I could, smiles. Glad you had a rest and break Lillian.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  11. Sue Anderson August 9, 2016 / 6:59 pm

    Every poem I am reading on this theme is as wonderful than the next, and yours is no exception. This one resonates with me so deeply that I am yearning to be off to the cabin, lake, mountains…or all of the above. You really drew me in. Thanks,

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • lillian August 11, 2016 / 8:36 am

      Happy to bring you along for a bit of respite and relaxation! 🙂 Plenty of room on the porch!

      Like

      Reply
  13. Rosemary Nissen-Wade August 9, 2016 / 8:36 pm

    Gorgeous poem for gorgeous place. And the blue of the sky does indeed make the clouds appear whiter!

    In my childhood, Mum would put a square of Reckitt’s Blue into the copper with the sheets. My job was to keep stirring with a long wooden stick (like an extra long wooden spoon) so that we wouldn’t get patches of actual blue on the white sheets.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • lillian August 11, 2016 / 8:37 am

      Ah that memory fits perfectly here! 🙂 Thanks for sharing and glad you enjoyed Green Lake with me.

      Like

      Reply
  14. Truedessa August 9, 2016 / 9:29 pm

    I can feel the tranquility of the Adirondacks, that fresh mountain air. This line just jumps off the page for me.

    imagine myself
    as notes within the loons’ song.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • lillian August 11, 2016 / 8:38 am

      The sound of the loon is absolutely magical! So glad you enjoyed.

      Like

      Reply
  15. Imelda August 9, 2016 / 10:10 pm

    The poem makes me want to join you in your porch and enjoy the skies and the view. 😊

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • lillian August 11, 2016 / 8:39 am

      Isn’t that the wonderful thing about the written word? You can just jump right in! 🙂

      Like

      Reply
  16. Josslyn Rae Turner August 9, 2016 / 10:12 pm

    Beautifully written! 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  17. maria August 10, 2016 / 12:32 am

    “Eyes closed, I drift within this space
    and imagine myself to stay.”

    Ah, a truly relaxing piece. You took as to the green lake with your words, Lillian. Thank you. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • lillian August 11, 2016 / 8:40 am

      Plenty of room on the porch! 🙂 Happy to share this special place. Thank you for the kind words.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
      • maria August 12, 2016 / 12:58 am

        Oh, I’d be honored. Thank you, Lillian. And you’re welcome. 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

  19. ladynyo August 10, 2016 / 10:20 am

    Just beautiful….soothing and I want to be there. Just your words evoke a sentiment to uplift and sit there. LOL! Haven’t seen the Decks for many decades….but they are a magical place. You have evoked that magic with your poem.

    Jane

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • lillian August 11, 2016 / 8:44 am

      So glad to take you on a Green Lake visit! I’d never been to the Adirondecks until this visit. I was smitten! 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  20. Stacie Eirich August 10, 2016 / 10:28 am

    Oh what a lovely moment you’ve painted here. Of course your setting is already beautiful, but you have made it more so with the way you stitched your words. Makes me want to stay there too, watching the “bluing clouds to their brightest white” as they stretched across the sky. Thanks for sharing.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • lillian August 11, 2016 / 8:45 am

      So glad you enjoyed, Stacie! Nice to meet you here — you can share the porch with me any time 🙂

      Like

      Reply
  21. Bkmackenzie August 10, 2016 / 10:56 am

    You set the scene of a beautiful day in the Adirondacks. The sky blue the clouds. But the ending is my fav. Imaging to stay…bkm

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • lillian August 11, 2016 / 8:46 am

      Yes! Supposed to hit 100 degrees today in Boston. Think I will just stare at this image and imagine myself back there! 🙂 Glad you enjoyed.

      Like

      Reply
  22. Waltermarks August 10, 2016 / 12:17 pm

    I like the part about becoming part of the loons song. That sounds like the melding mind of nature

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • lillian August 11, 2016 / 8:43 am

      Loons have a truly magical sound — a warbling that sounds like nothing else. Truly beautiful! So glad you enjoyed.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
      • Waltermarks August 11, 2016 / 9:12 am

        I like the sound of nightbirds. We have one here that sounds like a whipporwill. Thank you

        Liked by 1 person

    • lillian August 11, 2016 / 8:42 am

      Scenes like this, days like this, just sitting on a rustic porch — food for the soul! Glad you enjoyed.

      Like

      Reply
    • lillian August 12, 2016 / 4:32 pm

      Thanks, Bryan. Have you heard a loon? Their call is absolutely magical!

      Like

      Reply
  27. Jae Rose August 12, 2016 / 12:31 pm

    The best pleasures are those we can sit back and recognise – then they truly are absorbed and valued – your uplifting poem also fitted wonderfully with the profile photo of your feet! A lovely place to sit

    Like

    Reply

Leave a comment