Sound and Light

Written during a visit to Spain,

 

 

Segovia

 

Iridescence applies

Shimmering light,

Brushing reality

Onto the canvas of memory,

Locking mind,

   Striking eye,

      Translated by

          Ochre,

               Turquoise,

                   Crimson Lake.

 

Fine fabrics,

   Stucco, flowers,

     Vegetables, fruits,

Arrayed abundance,

   Discordant

      Beneath Goya's azure sky

         Under which,

            Chords gently float.

A palette of sound,

Melding colour with tone.

 

Coloured tone,

   Timeworn stone

       Radiating heat of noon.

But soon,

 Shaded from the carmine glow of sun,

 Coloured with the violet sound of night

The stones reflect

 Sound and light

   From the fingers of Segovia,

    On the strings of Spain.

                                                                        John L. Berry

A tribute to a fine artist, a unique musician and a beautiful country.

Author's Note

Say what you really think

Reviews

[Jules]

This is astounding and enchanting and it just makes me want to experience it all for myself. Also mostly makes me grateful for your sharing because I feel in some small way that I HAVE experienced it, through your eyes and your beautiful words.

Truly incredible, and I loved the form of it, because it cast everything into stark relief.

[Tuff Stuff]

My favorite line,
"Brushing reality
Onto the canvas of memory"
VERY GOOD!

[cmaynard]

I am interested by the thoughts provoked by the structure of this poem......
Though I am not sure of its intended purposes here... entirely....
It has given rise to an interesting idea......for this I thank you.......it has helped to spark creativity.....

[Emily Rose]

I love the colors mixed with sounds; it's a wonderful mental snapshot of a time and place. As everyone else has said, your imagery is fantastic, although I was hoping that you'd mix more types of imagery into it: you've got movement, sound and sight, but what about taste and smell? I can only FEEL Spain distantly - I can see it in my mind's eye, perhaps as you see it, but it's not a perfect picture yet. I'm not sure if you want to expand the poem or not, but if you do the addition of taste and smell imagery would be lovely and create a much sharper image.

The poem's brokenness is a little jarring and seems to mitigate the smoothness of the scene, but I think I realize why you used it. The area you're describing feels beautiful, but busy and the busy-ness is reflected by the scattered imagery and short lines. It gives a sense of taking everything in at once - first you look at one thing, then another, then another and you don't have time to orgainze the thoughts in an orderly fashion in your mind, so it comes out jumbled. I really like the interspersing of rhyme at the end, too - it really caught my attention and made me pay attention to that section of the poem more.

This was fantastic - it made me want to travel but at the same time gave me the sense that I was already there. Wonderful job!

[Drifting Blue]

A lovign rendering of a beautiful place. I was supposed to go to Valencia once, but the government shut down and I couldn't get my passport. Went to Africa instead. I have tried to write about the beauty there, but not with the success you have here. Makes me wish I was there.

[Michelle Anselm]

As I read, an elaborate painting was slowly being brushed onto my "canvas of memory" - it was akin to how the words of an opera are visualized in the backdrop, only this was softer, warmer, more welcoming, and I felt more like I was standing on the stage in the backdrop itself instead of sitting in a balcony peering through tiny binoculars.

Point being, the flow was wonderful, the visuals were wonderful, and the formatting caught my eye. Lovely work. (:

[Mick Parsons]

I like the images a lot, but I am curious about the abruptness of the form. I interpret form as one of the ways to bring the reader from one line to another... but visually, it creates a certain... detachment.

The use of colors definitely points to a painting due to the specific nature of the names; azure is a different thing than blue, for example, in a painter's perspective. It's also very tactile... vegetables, fruits, stones... which, contrasted against the use of colors, give it a painterly quality.

[Fabian G. Franklin]

This was like a beautiful impressionist painting, full of color and texture, wonderful descriptions. I could see the stucco porches and verandas, almost smell the flowers and I love the closing last two lines, just perfect, a great read John.

[Kena Dawn Augustine]

This poem is like taking a trip to Spain! thank you. don't have to imagine or watch the travel channel. Can you take us to other beautiful countries as well??? lol. As everyone said down here as well, the poem is rich in imagrey. Beautifully executed, the imagrey flows off the page, and well, you have a strong poetic style to your writing! thanks.

[JR]

Say what I think? I think the imagery is really well done... you do a good job of putting the reader into a particular place and time. You do it with style. Nice blending of art, music, and scenery:

"Arrayed abundance,
Discordant
Beneath Goya's azure sky
Under which,
Chords gently float."

Nice way to bring it all together. You certainly create mood... I feel relaxed reading this poem. It seems like an explosion of senses.

Here's my issue... where's the movement? Where's the change? What am I supposed to take away from this other than a vague good feeling about five inches above my bowels? I mean, sure, it's pretty. Is that what poetry is supposed to be? Pretty? Ok. If this is a written equivalent of a landscape painting, Goya, then it's well done.

If you want to know what I really think, I think poetry should at least have an element of the soul. Something that moves us to thinking in a new way, something that makes all those synapses up there fire off in a new, more complex pattern. I, personally, like poetry that makes me think. This poem doesn't. It's like watching a program on tv... it happens, it's nice when it does, than it's gone, and I won't think of it again.

Again, just my personal opinion. It's pretty. You have a way with words.