blade of grass by brian patten

I like this poem .its so simple.

blade of grass

You ask for a poem.
I offer you a blade of grass.
You say it is not good enough.
You ask for a poem.

I say this blade of grass will do.
It has dressed itself in frost,
It is more immediate
Than any image of my making.

You say it is not a poem,
It is a blade of grass and grass
Is not quite good enough.
I offer you a blade of grass.

You are indignant.
You say it is too easy to offer grass.
It is absurd.
Anyone can offer a blade of grass.

You ask for a poem.
And so I write you a tragedy about
How a blade of grass
Becomes more and more difficult to offer,

And about how as you grow older
A blade of grass
Becomes more difficult to accept.

-- Brian Patten

Take a picture!

Village girls near Bedse Caves,pune

I recently discovered photography as an art form. And I should admit that it took me by surprise. I never saw it as more than mere collection of memories. The usual way family and friends capture moments on occasions they want to remember.

Now it means more to me as I am exploring its depths. It’s like sketching, in a way, as you express the way you look at things, when you see beauty in simple everyday things. It has the same visual characteristics of line, form, shape, light and reflection.

It seems silly, at first, to note that when objects that already exist, capturing them in their natural position should be considered a form of art. In fact it is a debatable issue amongst most artists of whether it is a form of art or at best a craft. But I know now that whether art or not, it has helped me personally to look at things with a different perspective.

It has helped me understand ‘light’ in a better way. How light changes the way an object appears, by its shadows, by its intensity. Even the colour of the light can change everything. I’ve learnt how composition is vital .The way the picture is framed decides what should be seen or rather what you want to be seen.

I think this is a great example for composition

God lies in the details they say. I think observing these small things would have been unknown to me had it not been for macro photography.

Photography has helped me even to understand colour in a better way. Colour can be deceptive. In all visual arts, it plays a vital role. The colour of the object and background changes the whole composition .What is highlighted and what goes in the backdrop. Black and white is beautiful because it allows you to see beyond colour. Lines, tones, shadows become the lead players. Suddenly, light makes all the difference.

And so, im learning. This is just the beginning.