F5
Vicious it came
like a freight train
spiraling down
ripping streets of the town
Over a mile wide
nowhere to hide
destruction
desperation
and courage
Not a bad dream
no rescue team
could find you
in the rubble left behind
You’d moved on
someone’s beloved son
now high in the sky
left us all asking why
did you become an angel
too soon
F5.
I wrote a post recently about Karen Blixen’s story – her years in Africa as told by her in the book “Out of Africa”, which also became a famous film in mid 1980s. While her story is intriguing, I loved the book and the film much because of the way both describe the beauty of the African landscape.
While Karen Blixen loved her farm at the foot of the Ngong Hills close to Nairobi, and admired the natural beauty of the hills, she also got familiar with the Indian Ocean coast through her friendship and romance with Denys Finch-Hatton.
Finch-Hatton had purchased land and built a house right on the coast in Takaunga, just north of Mombasa. He used to bring Blixen there for romantic getaways in his small plane, Gypsy Moth. The white long stretch of beaches made a great landing strip close to the house.
Blixen fell in love with the coastal beauty and wrote in her book ”a divine, clean, barren marine greatness, with the blue Indian Ocean before you . . .”
She continued ” When the tide is out you can still walk miles away seawards from the house, as on a tremendous, somewhat unevenly paved piazza, picking up strange long peaked shells and starfish.” And indeed, it is easy to see what she meant by that.
Luckily Blixen was busy liquidating her coffee farm and did not accompany Finch-Hatton in May 1931 when he came to his coastal paradise for the last time. He died on his way back to Nairobi when his plane crashed in Voi where he had been spotting elephants from the air.
I came here for the first time almost 25 years ago – and fell in love with the beauty of the area as well. In the many years when we lived in land-locked countries in Africa, we used to come here to enjoy the ocean and everything this wonderful coast has to offer.
Today of course, many hotels have been built on the beach both south and north of Mombasa. Many of them, although completely modern, have been built in a style that fits the African coastal landscape.
Besides the wonderful, white beaches where we used to walk miles and miles, scuba diving on the reef or parasailing over the clear waters, one could enjoy life around the pool, do short safaris … and admire the delightful presentations of food at the dinner buffets. Many of these were true works of art beautifully displaying local seafood, fruits and vegetables.
After the dessert, one could enjoy evening entertainment by the poolside presented by Masai dancers and other local artists.
I have fond memories of these trips. I remember that walking on the beach, I could almost hear and see Finch-Hatton’s small plane land there for a romantic escape with Karen Blixen. I hope to visit again one day.
Whether my dress is
hottest red or pastel pink
immaterial
we are all just flamingos
who share this beautiful earth.
This tanka poem was inspired by today’s wonderful spring-themed post by a great photographer and poet, Melody (http://melodylowes.com/2013/05/18/flamingo-sighting/). Imagination and inference can blend nicely sometimes. I wish you all a blessed weekend!
I thought I would complete my “four seasons on the beach” series I started last summer by quickly reporting about the spring season. I have to hurry because this season is quite elusive here in the south. It comes in instalments of few days in April and May when the weather is truly pleasant, the humidity is low and the ocean water is still a bit cool. Then, in a blink, it’s summer.
This year we have been privileged to enjoy quite a stretch of beautiful spring days, with day highs in the low 80s (F) and night lows in the 60s. We had a cooler than usual winter and these spring days came late in the season, after most of the spring breakers had already visited here.
The nature is invigorated by spring showers, everything is light or bright green and flowers and bushes are blooming.
The birds are out on the beach in force enjoying the pleasant temperatures. Some of them carefully monitoring the fishermen’s luck from the rocks next to the jetty.
The business on the public beach is waking up too in anticipation of more beach-goers with the pleasant weather. Canoes, jet-skis and a variety of beach chairs for rent suddenly appear after the relative silence of the winter. But the lifeguard’s chair is still empty.
It is very peaceful to walk on the beach and look for beautiful shells. Or why not sit on a sand dune, look far into the blue horizon and just be still in the “now”. It’s invigorating like the spring itself.
The sunsets are magnificent as well. Every evening the sun dresses in a different evening gown – from pastel pinks and light blues to purples, yellows and reds. It’s free art of the highest order for everyones’s enjoyment!
I hope you enjoyed this short ”spring tour” and that you’ll get an opportunity to visit our beautiful Florida Gulf Coast this spring or later in the summer.
Evening storms gather
skies fiercely reaching down
pray for protection.
Respect your neighbor
Always lend a helping hand
Co-exist in peace.
Observing the world
harboring fears of future
shrinking habitat.
Water is still cool
full bath is out of question
just dipping my feet.
Hepatica nobilis by Archenzo (CC)
I saw your smile in the shimmer of the ocean
I heard your voice in the bird’s song
I sensed your gentle being in the wind
and you hugged me when the rain came.
*
You let me know you loved the bouquet
of hepatica we brought to your hospital room
on the morning of your last day, Mother’s Day
and you thanked me for growing up without you.
*
Remembering that day, I cried
you talked to me softly in the breeze
comforting thoughts of love and wisdom
and I picked all the wild flowers for you.
In the last couple of months I have been honored by fellow bloggers with many wonderful awards:
Inspiring Blogger Award by Elliebloo at her poetry blog http://simplypoeticme.com/, the very beautiful Dragons Loyalty Award by http://wrestling-life.com/, a versatile Blogger Award and Shine On Award by Shaun at http://prayingforoneday.wordpress.com/ and finally the new, touching WordPress Family Award – Shaun’s design – by Joe at http://iamforchange.wordpress.com/.
I wish to express my gratitude and thank all of you from the bottom of my heart for these awards! And dear readers, please make sure to check out these great blogs!
Since I have already emptied my own storage box with things about myself, I will let Bumble, my poodle who has become an avid blogger in his old days, tell a few secrets about me from his perspective.
”Ok, here we go. I hope mom doesn’t read this, she promised not to…and since I can’t count, forgive me if the number of things is not exactly the right number according to all the rules:
I don’t know if this is sufficient, but that’s all I have time to write now. So long everybody! “
Hmm…a promise is a promise, so I will let this go.
I also have to confess that this might be my last somewhat “proper” thank you note. I struggle with freeing enough time for blogging anyway…so from now on I will acknowledge any awards that might come my way on my special page for Thanks, but will not attempt to write thank you posts. The interaction through comments and thoughts posted by you all is the best reward I can get! So thanks for your understanding.
And now I have the privilege to nominate a few blogs that I really enjoy reading. They are about 100…so the task of selecting a few is very difficult. To honor this occasion, I will nominate a few blogs for the REALITY Award I came up with last year, and will try to nominate blogs that I have started to follow more recently.
This award is really “light touch”, a simple expression of appreciation, and therefore does not have any specific rules, as described at its inception.
My 10 nominees are:
http://mauriceabarry.wordpress.com/
http://thegreatamericanlandscape.wordpress.com/
http://lichtyears.wordpress.com/
http://terrytreks.wordpress.com
http://blackandwrite.wordpress.com/
If you are not yet familiar with all these great blogs, please make sure to check them out soon!
Congratulations and thank you! And to all other 90+ blogs I read regularly, thanks to you too 
And Happy Mothers Day to all moms in the readership!
