“DoN’t do it– ” blacK–
black jeans & shirt, he’s stoned
and leans against a steel container
to gain balance– back
and forth, side– something
that i can relate to–
we stay in the shade,
pacing up & down small alleys,
time glides smoothly with the creek
alongside us and winds upon
cigarette stumps & crown seals,
pressed into the veins
of hundred years old cobblestone,
at some point
i put off my shoes, let both feet sink
in the water’s womb, relax,
no need to play or act,
we made it
to the top, climbing
twoHundredAndSixtyEight steps
up the Münster tower, scent
of café de paris, a mix of herbs
that i bought on the market earlier
keep mingling with evening sunrays,
& stained glass fragments of the day,
“DoN’t–
do it– ” he lurches on, balancing
his steps through busy crowds,
“He could write about him–”
“Guess you’re right”,
& someone should, i think,
for poise and for the dark caught
so casually together with the light
in cream-white sunshades, street cafés
& windows that reflect our silhouettes
as she exhales her breath
with gurgling sighs upon us
.
i had the pleasure to meet Mary in Freiburg yesterday…we had a good time and i thought i’d share this little snapshot of our afternoon with you…smiles..linking up with MeetingTheBar, hosted by Victoria over at dVerse which goes up at 3pm EST..and it’s all about balance today..
oh..and i have been interviewed by Neelima…you can read the interview here..
Two hundred sixty eight steps will probably remain my greatest accomplishment of my time on vacation. You definitely did justice to the “Don’t do it” man, preserved his essence as as Brian would have. There definitely was a good balance in the time together. Thank you again for sharing your time.
And what a lovely snapshot, too, Claudia! By the sounds of it, Freiburg is a great and interesting place and the Münster Tower sounds fab. Love the atmosphere caught here, esp. in last verse.
Oh this is wonderful for someone, like myself, that has never really been anywhere worth sharing. Thanks for letting me tag alone! I love your travel snapshots.
smiles…i know you two had fun…and walking barefoot int he water does not sound like a bad way to cool the dogs off after so many steps…interesting on the man you saw….def makes me wonder a bit about him and what his story is…the relating to his weaving…i feel you…most def this week…smiles…
great stuff. I love some of your phrasing.
I love your description of the mans poise and dark caught together. What an intriguing way to capture him.
Love how you treated the prompt, felt the balance (but it was my prompt!)
… wish you where here, C … we could elaborate a bit on this and that and other things … Love you, be well, my friend … Always, cat.
i love the sights and sounds, smells… snapshots (stained glass fragments of the day is gorgeous!) and the man… all weaving through this poem in a sometimes chaotic-seeming balance… but balance nonetheless, as evidenced by the lyricism that pulls it all together
Love this one, Claudia. Having climbed those steps too, I’m right there with you. Freiburg is a beautiful city. Hope that man didn’t go up the winding steps; you really need balance to negotiate the curves.
Sounds like you two had a grand time, and as always you capture the places you go with ease.
Hi Claudia – I am wavering right here, hoping not to fall, but beautifully caught if I do, by all the details in your poem. Very interesting. k.
Claudia–you have such a glorious, powerful sense of phrasing–I adore your images and your voice
Thanks again for such a beautiful shapshot. Liked this portion quite a lot:
he’s stoned
and leans against a steel container
to gain balance– back
and forth, side– something
that i can relate to–
ugh–SNAPSHOT. What is up with my comment spelling lately?
Another vivid slice of life captured in your poem…ah..but that’s a lot of steps to climb.
Brilliant juxtaposition of dark and light.
I so enjoyed this Claudia… especially the ending!
“a mix of herbs
that i bought on the market earlier
keep mingling with evening sunrays,
& stained glass fragments of the day” … Yum!
“for poise and for the dark caught
so casually” … I really like this.
I read this earlier and…forgot to leave a comment. I love that you have gotten to meet Mary and shared some time together. Pheeeew on all those steps. I would never make the climb. The guy def sounds stoned or drunk, hope he never hurt himself til he sobered up a bit. Another lovely capture of a few moments of your busy days. Loved the paddle in the water, bet it felt sooooo good!
Very cool! I don’t think that I could have done those stairs!
…for the dark caught so casually together with the light…this line alone is a perfect piece for the prompt…it whisked me away…the poem and the day both sound fantastic!
Pingback: Freiburg in and out of balance « thebleedingpen
Sorry for the delay in commenting my internet went down several hours ago. I so enjoy these moments spent seeing life from your perspective. I’d love to walk a mile in your shoes.
I like the way you inserted the dialogue and didn’t break the rhythm of your words.
Nice that you and Mary got to meet ~ You always capture your travels with a keen eye for details and images ~
Here’s to a day in balance: some climbing, walking, foot bathing, people watching and sunset gazing! “for poise and for the dark caught / so casually together with the light / in cream-white sunshades” and then writing this.
I came, I saw.
loved this….when read it loud..it was even more good…nice snapshots!
I love the physicality of this, the breath, veins, womb … and the balance, oh yes, the balance …
I couldn’t agree more Polly! Would love to hear you deliver this live Claudia.
Impressive. I like what you did with this.
I like what I feel when I read this. “scent of cafe de paris,” set the tone for me, and I loved simply “being there.”
Whoops … I am here: http://crowsfete.blogspot.com/2012/07/freedom.html
You make it sound so exotic.
I wish I was there.
Love this little slice of your afternoon!
Claudia, love that phrase “in water’s womb” and the “time glides smoothly with the creek” wonderful! The whole poem makes me wish I was there
My favourite city! Memories evoked by your references here, Claudia.
You have put Freiburg on my “to visit” list. However, can it live up to the picture you painted?
lovely that you got to spend time together.
the smells of coffee and herbs, and the satisfaction of reaching your goal =)
Symmetry means maintaining balance, but how balance in a world filled with time elements that dot lives like so much detritus. Life can be messy, maintaining balance can be difficult, holding on to what we are amid time’s progression to its asymmetrical end is an uncertain proposition, to say the least. As always, your poems immerse me in a world that is not always what it seems, or so it seems.
Somehow, Claudia, you have perfectly balanced darkness and light here–both needed.
time glides smoothly with the creek
alongside us and winds upon
cigarette stumps & crown seals,
pressed into the veins
of hundred years old cobblestone,
…beautiful! Love how you have captured these moments.
“& someone should, i think,
for poise and for the dark caught
so casually together with the light
in cream-white sunshades, street cafés
& windows that reflect our silhouettes
as she exhales her breath
with gurgling sighs upon us”
Hi! Claudia and Mary…
I hope that you enjoyed your time together in Freiburg in and out of balance.
Claudia, I think that have you captured the essence Of your time together very well in your poem…too!
[The reason:
I quoted the last stanza Of your poem…Because it seems to have “captured” the mood or feeling as your day together wind (Sp) down and is to become a memory for both Of you…I hope.
Tks, for sharing
deedee
i’m envious of both you and Mary to have met ‘in real life.’
“as she exhales her breath
with gurgling sighs upon us”
that just took my breath away!
only you can take the ‘every day’ and turn it into magic!
♥
So beautiful…
“mingling with evening sunrays,
& stained glass fragments of the day,”
What a lovely keepsake of a visit. You may have taken photos also, but they would not be necessary….
beautiful contrasts and scents here. you snapshot moments so vividly. I especially like ‘a mix of herbs i bought on the market earlier keep mingling with the evening’s sunrays’ and the delicious words surrounding this phrase.
Feet sinking into water’s womb…I like! you capture real comfort right there, Claudia. ‘Bet you and Mary had a fab time.
so many snapshots of a day so capturing,
“mingling with evening sunrays,
& stained glass fragments of the day”
“she exhales her breath
with gurgling sighs upon us”
and my fav, further up toward the beginning,
“time glides smoothly with the creek
alongside us and winds upon
cigarette stumps & crown seals,
pressed into the veins
of hundred years old cobblestone”
snapshots and snippets that keep nipping at me
nicely nicely done claudia, thanks 
Wow, 268 steps, Claudia…good for the two of you…I would be soaking my feet in water, too…thanks for sharing your snapshot
Ah…the womb of water (necessary, after all those steps!)…and that final stanza. Divine. Thank you.
I smelled the coffe and got a sniff of the stairs, too. Heard the sounds coming from those windows and soaked up the atmosphere in the street, Many thanks.
Greetings from London.
I so love your writing and cannot say there is a single post that does not pull me in and carry me with you.