After a long day's wait the magpie came.
In a misty shroud it sat on the finger-tip of the dame
Tales from afar of winter's spell,
a forlorn autumn's golden trail,
tales of deserts where sullen winds
blew hot and cold, the warrior clans,
and in processions of camels
how the night felt the indifference
of a powerful prince
and how the flowers wilted and died
long before the morning sun
came to lift the spirit of the world.
And she listened, fascinated
by exotic dreams and alien fears,
her own heart ignorant of any such strange
bewildering winds that sway lives
in dusty storms.
Bird, are you tired in the wings?
Your vision is drunk on the misty clouds
drifting in the lap of the ocean and the canopy of sky!
Tell me all that you have seen! I have covered you in my warmth
A shroud of mist covers us both
and I can see you in the light of my inner being.
Tell me how the censer burnt,
tell me how the candle held
in the burst of the light of the sun.
Tell me about the perfume you carry
on your strong and delicate wing.
Hurry up bird, do not tarry
the dawn is waiting behind the hill
and the twilight hour is ending soon.

June 18, 2016

Originally shared by Sushama Karnik

Image How the maharaja became an art lover

Originally shared by Johann Blake

108 Year Old Message in a Bottle Found

The bottle was found on the shores of Germany and is now considered the oldest message-in-a-bottle to be found surpassing the one that was 99 years old.

When Mrs. Winkler, the woman who found the bottle, brought it to her husband, he unsuccessfully tried to open it. When he failed, he decided to do what the note on the inside said to do: "Break the bottle".

And there folks, was one of the dumbest things to have done.

The value of that bottle, unbroken, if sold at an auction, probably would have went into the tens if not hundreds of thousands of dollars. Technology even exists that can read the rolled up message without even opening the bottle and still potentially determine its date. And if the bottle had to be damaged to retrieve the message, there are glass cutters that can slice off the top without completely destroying it.

After reading the message inside, it said "Return to Sender". Well almost. While no date was included on the message, it did have a return address: Marine Biological Association in Plymouth (UK). And it promised a reward of a shilling for returning the message. The Winklers returned the message and as it turned out, it was part of a research project between 1904 and 1906 to determine ocean currents.

The Marine Biological Association found a shilling coin on eBay and as promised sent it to the Winklers.

So in return for something worth potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars, they got a cheap coin. The only worse mistake now would be to throw the coin into Mickey Mouse's wishing well and hope for some dream to come true:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6gw5LnKeGU

(It's hilarious. Watch it)

And thus ends the story of an opportunity...lost...not at sea but in a kitchen.

World's oldest message in a bottle washes up in Germany after 108 years at sea

telegraph.co.uk

The morning comes with an evocative mist
I begin to ascend the steps
with the scent of a presence
somewhere along my way.
The shadows are hidden,
even the sounds muffled
The woods are lying around me
mysterious, quiet.
Somewhere like a rainbow
the bridge will end like a dream.

there at the end unseen, i imagine a woman weaving dreams
Her skillful fingers deftly spin
around two needles,
like her breath moving in and out.
Between the pause, the significant, rhythmic pause
she sees beautiful spaces of love,
filled with surprizes which her memory
working in a blissful harmony
with her wondrous mind,
works into a tapestry of magical codes
 a seamstress of endless threads of words

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In the cold heart of a hard winter
when the the snow is falling all around
you will feel the the warmth in the heart of a friend
holding a warm coffee-mug
running her fingers along the edge
and speaking in hushed tones the secrets of her past.
The walls will have an intimacy the harsh wind cannot freeze,
and the four walls of a room
are the place for stars to dwell

Sushama Karnik
Nov 25, 2015

Originally shared by Tanya Dimitrova

Dark reflections in the pond
where the rain left last night
the rain's peculiar mark:
a pond that refused to flow
and stayed for a while
like a mind absorbing all.
All of the road and all of the night,
reflecting upon the truths 
of absorption and perception,
reflections and refraction.
I was arrested on my way
and watched my image.
It was steady. The rain had fled
and the night remained.

Thanks to Teresa and Domicu Aldari for the image. 

Originally shared by teresa pilcher - 7 comments

New York Stories - Dark Reflections
teresapilcherphotography.com

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The evening climbed the sunset hill.
I saw her against the sun.
She spread her robe in the wind.
Behind her was the city.
The three graces peered over
and they blessed the hour of the transition.
The darkening crest of the hill,
etched with a palette knife,
and the evening claimed her share of the light.
A swallow fluttered its wings,
insignificantly,
before it landed
on the fragile finger
extended,
frail,
to
the
bird,
homeward bound.

Sushama Karnik
Sept 17, 2018

Thanks for the image, Shasta Davis

Originally shared by shasta davis - 9 comments

The sun had set and a faint pastel haze lingered in the midsummer sky,
and melted into a lurid nightfall ,

TJ Lawrence ,.

Lovely Evening My Friends ~~~

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The road to forgiveness...
a way back to love,
back to the thing denied,
the part of us that we forgot.
A long and winding way
recounting the smallest detail
of the road we had traveled long back.
A journey to the hushed sea within,
the sounds of the wings
of gulls sweeping across the skies.
The grace of the morning prayers revived
for all that is loved and cherished.

Sushama Karnik
Nov 25, 2015