The Insertion of Poetry

Summer 2011 at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens. This is a fairly small raised pond beside an arbor with shaded bench (in which I am standing).The giant rounded leaves of Colocasia (Elephant Ears) dance above smokey silken water, softening the crisp hard edges of the modern pool. Photoshop filtering defines the edges, so that the bench and brick wall in the distance have character, as do the stems of Horsetail grass (Equisetum) and Pickerel Rush (Pondeteria cordata) in the middle ground.

Technical stuff aside, I always ask myself why an image speaks to me. When I give a thing meaning or a story, it becomes more precious, as though it finds its place. There are several metaphoric elements here: water-contained by unforgiving concrete, lushness thriving in the shadow and shelter of water, and the carefully crafted and arranged seats and walls of daily life. It's like the insertion of poetry into a life rigidly structured for function and beauty -- the juxtaposition of formality and tropical abandon.

Nikon Cool Pix 5700, taken 2011