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Hello Poets!
And, hello Friday snow day! Thank you, Robyn at Life on the Deckle Edge for hosting our round-up this weekend.
This week, I have a poem in response to a beautiful memorial I visited in Germany over Christmas break.
Saint Nikolai church was destroyed by Allied Operation Gamorrah during World War II. After the war, city planners of Hamburg found restoration of the church, whose congregation had already relocated, prohibitively expensive and time-consuming in this very busy city.
Since the blackened outer walls, floor, crypt, and spire remained, the ruins were turned into a memorial sculpture garden. Read more of the history here.
While visiting the memorial grounds, I was taken with this sculpture. She's beautiful...and the plaque at her base is beautiful too.
Angel on Earth is my inspiration today.
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| "Angel on Earth" Take my hand and let me lead you back to yourself. Edith Breckwoldt 2003. |
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| Linda Mitchell 1/19/24 |
We are three weeks into 2024 and I already have a New Year's postcard from Jone's exchange that I adore. I sent mine out this week. Poem #3 is on World's padlet.
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| Overlooking Hamburg from the spire of St. Nikolai December '23 |
A trip to Germany! Wow, Linda. I enjoyed hearing the story of the garden created from the Saint Nikolai church ruins - and your words, "a wellspring of knowing yourself" - hope? (I received my first postcard today, too! - good smiles in the mail!)
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness! What a wonderful poem Linda. The way you incorporated the quote from the statue's plaque into your poem is beautifully and skilfully done.
ReplyDeleteLinda, such a unique and powerful statue! I love that you noticed the plaque and turned it into something even more beautiful!
ReplyDeletePainfully beautiful yet comforting sculpture and poem, that you feel with those reaching hands, thanks for sharing all Linda!
ReplyDeleteI love "winter tree nakedness" and "One hand / reaching for sun and /
ReplyDeletethe other for you." What a brilliant idea to turn ruins into a memorial--and a plaque into a poem!
Linda, wow. This is a cool golden shovel poem. It pairs well with Laura Purdie Salas's poem today, too! I love it when poems speak to each other.
ReplyDeleteLinda: You poem is so insightful, leading back and back and back. If only we could go back to the innocence! Let your grief adorn me... Thank you for this gorgeous photo and poem.
ReplyDeleteWow! What a moving poem and sculpture. Thanks so much for sharing both with us, Linda. I'm amazed at how you incorporated the words from the plaque into your poem. I'm especially moved by:
ReplyDeleteLet
your grief adorn me.
and the image of:
a wellspring knowing yourself.
I love hearing WW2 stories and the story of this church is an interesting one. The statue is beautiful and somehow an angel on earth did save the world in the 1940's. We can use her now, don't you think?
ReplyDeleteToday is a triple gift of poetry from you. Your "Angel on Earth" photo and poem are such a tribute to self-care. Right now I need a wellspring of knowing myself. Your world poem is another wonder and your swap on PEACE is filled with beautiful WORDS that touched me. "this peace at twilight/this refuge from day's worries/a breath for this world." Just beautiful!
ReplyDeleteThis ekphrasis beautifully draws me in to the figure that tenderly holds a hand out to me. So many gifts came from your trip!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful sculpture and golden shovel!
ReplyDeleteWhat a poem! I love how "winter tree nakedness" mirrors the photo, and the repetition of "lead you" and "back" are mirrored in the hands on the base of the sculpture. Wowza. You knocked this one out of the park.
ReplyDeleteLinda, your poem is stunning. That back and back and back. That connection. Oh! Gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteLinda, wow. I love the beauty that you added to Edith Breckwoldt's sculpture/striking line. You have just illuminated the beauty with your additional words. I love the repetition of "Let it lead you--lead you back and back and back..." Gorgeous. And thanks for the photo from Hamburg. It was nice traveling with you a bit here.
ReplyDeleteYour lovely peace poem arrived in my mailbox! I love this one you shared too with the way it can be read 2 ways. Hooray for snow this week!
ReplyDeleteThis is lovely, Linda. The strike line is perfect and your repetition of wording and phrases pulls it all together beautifully. I remember so well wandering through Hamburg when I spent a semester there during college and coming upon the ruins of a bombed church left as a memorial. I believe it was St. Nikolai...though I've forgotten the name. I have not forgotten how deeply it moved me.
ReplyDeleteWow--lovely way to weave in the line, and to honor and remember your trip!
ReplyDeleteThank you for including some of the images of the statue. All those hands and the title make me wonder about if this angel was carrying all these souls with her -guiding the way back to themselves. Beautiful!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful! Ruth, thereisnosuchthingasagodforsakentown.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteP.S. I just caught up on the padlet and that's wonderful too. Ruth
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness, Linda--what a way to use the line. "One hand reaching for sun and the other for you, tender one"..."back and back and back." Back to when we were small and knew not much more than our own wellspring. *sigh* May it be so.
ReplyDeleteSo many profound layers in all of this, Linda - thank you for the blessing. Amazing photos - thanks for sharing this bit of your travel experience!
ReplyDelete