tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-420316784877875522024-02-03T00:05:48.877+00:00Colourful StarAn ongoing online art and poetry project bringing together paintings by Marina Shiderova and poetry by Tom Phillips.Colourful Starhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04470953670411813060noreply@blogger.comBlogger250125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42031678487787552.post-3417469385474438902018-10-14T16:59:00.000+01:002018-10-14T16:59:15.827+01:00Късни цветя в Лозенец/Late flowers in Lozenets<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHGaIxGcwsXTHZSfH92PXNpM8rcphY8Xf2ky5EVGZjO5A6Hdp0-TgsQRbtvLMwdylos91Df2fwIeZGYtzWTqEg5-PGdZbLmACNCFQEislmwJowi7mmxnXBczG0ZqxQ3KgHndTlhxe-1A/s1600/flowers1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="315" data-original-width="476" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHGaIxGcwsXTHZSfH92PXNpM8rcphY8Xf2ky5EVGZjO5A6Hdp0-TgsQRbtvLMwdylos91Df2fwIeZGYtzWTqEg5-PGdZbLmACNCFQEislmwJowi7mmxnXBczG0ZqxQ3KgHndTlhxe-1A/s400/flowers1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Emerging once again from European Union,<o:p></o:p></div>
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we’re back in his footsteps on this path<o:p></o:p></div>
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by late-flowering apartment balconies.<o:p></o:p></div>
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For a moment, it’s as if we’re in a film –<o:p></o:p></div>
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not a high-concept blockbuster at the mall,<o:p></o:p></div>
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but a comedy the critics would call ‘gentle’.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Nothing much happens. We cross roads<o:p></o:p></div>
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where marathon stragglers slow to a walk.<o:p></o:p></div>
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A pigeon displays an iridescent flash<o:p></o:p></div>
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around its neck. Our city’s metal labyrinth<o:p></o:p></div>
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has shifted its walls. There’s no change<o:p></o:p></div>
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in the till at the non-stop corner shop.<o:p></o:p></div>
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And, yes, that’s the evening settling down<o:p></o:p></div>
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to what we know. A local restaurant fills<o:p></o:p></div>
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with fans of Sunday league football.<o:p></o:p></div>
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There’s the smell of frying onions,<o:p></o:p></div>
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a newly opened book, a list of verbs.<o:p></o:p></div>
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And now comes a sort of hunkering down –<o:p></o:p></div>
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the chill in the air, thick winter coats,<o:p></o:p></div>
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a readiness for the journey towards spring.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i style="font-family: "times new roman";">Image: </i><i style="font-family: "times new roman";"><a href="http://shideroff.com/" style="font-family: 'times new roman';" target="_blank">Marina Shiderova</a><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic;">;</span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic;"> text: </span><a href="http://recreationground.blogspot.com/" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic;" target="_blank">Tom Phillips</a> </div>
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Colourful Starhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04470953670411813060noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42031678487787552.post-61170419658684591872018-10-07T17:27:00.002+01:002018-10-07T17:27:57.591+01:00И така/And so<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEvMLMRFTpkH9iw22HvGUl5JY4SOEIyZi40lJPCDbC80TdeUDujzHuo7wJ4_Ez0c18MCyMhnPY72BfWD-an2MhGZGfTwevq4YeYZNa-yNyN8gIEfYhsJ12uC3Mj852R7pLX0BS_oB5Eg/s1600/autumn+painting.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="671" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEvMLMRFTpkH9iw22HvGUl5JY4SOEIyZi40lJPCDbC80TdeUDujzHuo7wJ4_Ez0c18MCyMhnPY72BfWD-an2MhGZGfTwevq4YeYZNa-yNyN8gIEfYhsJ12uC3Mj852R7pLX0BS_oB5Eg/s400/autumn+painting.jpg" width="297" /></a></div>
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Turning one hundred my mother<o:p></o:p></div>
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would have turned to me and said: <o:p></o:p></div>
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‘You live now in Sofia?’<o:p></o:p></div>
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There’d been no way to tell her.<o:p></o:p></div>
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It’s been twenty-three years<o:p></o:p></div>
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since we spoke. Sharp red buds<o:p></o:p></div>
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were like midges coming in<o:p></o:p></div>
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and out of focus in the sunlight.<o:p></o:p></div>
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In that small room, the art<o:p></o:p></div>
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of loss was what I tried<o:p></o:p></div>
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to master. She’d gone<o:p></o:p></div>
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by then.<o:p></o:p></div>
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And now we live for the moment<o:p></o:p></div>
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when woods on the mountain brown.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i style="font-family: "times new roman";">Image: </i><i style="font-family: "times new roman";"><a href="http://shideroff.com/" style="font-family: 'times new roman';" target="_blank">Marina Shiderova</a><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic;">;</span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic;"> text: </span><a href="http://recreationground.blogspot.com/" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic;" target="_blank">Tom Phillips</a> </div>
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<br />Colourful Starhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04470953670411813060noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42031678487787552.post-54751660675050877392018-09-30T17:53:00.001+01:002018-09-30T17:53:14.769+01:00Звуци на миграция/Sounds of migration<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnG3GgM_6gHzvrAggo-1ziho9L-cYm87Nv5dfhOGEjdxWErKkPxvgZNvxnYrneL4W1YctExPRgilOQcKdbHnKM7A02mcqNzY789pdItfFugNRT-Nr9WrLazYWbMiex2aAMm3CCKguSlA/s1600/_DSC0400.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="658" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnG3GgM_6gHzvrAggo-1ziho9L-cYm87Nv5dfhOGEjdxWErKkPxvgZNvxnYrneL4W1YctExPRgilOQcKdbHnKM7A02mcqNzY789pdItfFugNRT-Nr9WrLazYWbMiex2aAMm3CCKguSlA/s400/_DSC0400.JPG" width="291" /></a></div>
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At the window</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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sounds of migration –<o:p></o:p></div>
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swallows chit-chat on wires.<o:p></o:p></div>
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They sense the cold coming.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Commuters, now wrapped <o:p></o:p></div>
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for winter, are of a mind:<o:p></o:p></div>
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there is warmth in movement.<br />
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Navigating parked cars, <o:p></o:p></div>
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they keep on, keep on for<o:p></o:p></div>
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bus stops and the metro.<o:p></o:p></div>
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A queue squats at the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">клек</i>:<o:p></o:p></div>
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there is warmth in coffee too.<o:p></o:p></div>
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(Less so in headlines<o:p></o:p></div>
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the chill breeze stirs<o:p></o:p></div>
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on a newsstand; no doubt<o:p></o:p></div>
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we’re in for it again.)<o:p></o:p></div>
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As if mobilized for war,<o:p></o:p></div>
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birds continue to gather<o:p></o:p></div>
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in colourful uniforms<o:p></o:p></div>
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and those who’ll remain<o:p></o:p></div>
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fuss at what’s left to feed on<o:p></o:p></div>
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in long-ago fruited trees.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i style="font-family: "times new roman";">Image: </i><i style="font-family: "times new roman";"><a href="http://shideroff.com/" style="font-family: 'times new roman';" target="_blank">Marina Shiderova</a><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic;">;</span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic;"> text: </span><a href="http://recreationground.blogspot.com/" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic;" target="_blank">Tom Phillips</a> </div>
Colourful Starhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04470953670411813060noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42031678487787552.post-60989779539527307202018-09-23T17:02:00.003+01:002018-09-27T18:14:34.749+01:00Територия на врани/Crow territory<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxL_XQSrQnl2aPcf7XBuXEk1_G9Mh7byfckmTunD9LpScwqo-EZEOaHcOfxaluH_3CnyPDJPFCuVeDQib_e8VT-TX2LK2o1TuheO6G2Bl7g3YzkQVCeW5L3FIf9JnYvPDG9tXsYIHdpg/s1600/unity+and+diversity.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="848" height="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxL_XQSrQnl2aPcf7XBuXEk1_G9Mh7byfckmTunD9LpScwqo-EZEOaHcOfxaluH_3CnyPDJPFCuVeDQib_e8VT-TX2LK2o1TuheO6G2Bl7g3YzkQVCeW5L3FIf9JnYvPDG9tXsYIHdpg/s400/unity+and+diversity.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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For several mornings now, black crows<br />
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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have out-shouted magpies and swifts.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Their brief electric squawks jump gaps<o:p></o:p></div>
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in the infrastructure – like us stepping over<o:p></o:p></div>
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old access points for cabling and pipes,<o:p></o:p></div>
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boiled concrete obtrusions in our street.<o:p></o:p></div>
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We don’t know much more about fields<o:p></o:p></div>
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where acres of late-season sweetcorn dry, <o:p></o:p></div>
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but the bus drops us here, beside blocks<o:p></o:p></div>
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with tiled roofs and wooden attic windows.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The gateway opens out onto walks <o:p></o:p></div>
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that lead, with some guidance, to a palace.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Trees have been brought here like us:<o:p></o:p></div>
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transplanted into an arboretum.<o:p></o:p><br />
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<b> Мястото на враните<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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Вече няколко сутрини черни врани<br /> надвикват свраки и бързолети.<br /> Кратките им електрически викове преминават<br /> през дупките в инфраструктурата – както ние<br /> прескачаме стари шахти за тръби и кабели,<br /> надигнали се бетонни препятствия на улицата ни.<br />
<br /> Не знаем много и за полята,<br /> където ниви с късна царевица съхнат,<br /> но автобусът ни оставя там пред блокове<br /> с керемидени покриви и дървени прозорци на тавана.<br /> От портата тръгват алеи,<br /> които водят, с известни напътствия, към дворец.<br />
<br /> Тук са донесени дървета като нас:<br /> пресадени в ботанически разсадник.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i style="font-family: "times new roman";">Image: </i><i style="font-family: "times new roman";"><a href="http://shideroff.com/" style="font-family: 'times new roman';" target="_blank">Marina Shiderova</a><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic;">;</span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic;"> text: </span><a href="http://recreationground.blogspot.com/" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic;" target="_blank">Tom Phillips</a> <i>Bulgarian translation by Bozhil Hristov</i></div>
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<br />Colourful Starhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04470953670411813060noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42031678487787552.post-59034001530695083492018-09-16T17:43:00.008+01:002018-09-16T17:43:58.933+01:00В квартала/In the neighbourhood<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5mWK8NWGqnfOYKplFe8YWYnE6mxPJKxoSXe95VK66guYopFXomY0DcDM9y3g5qLw5gX0cxlogoP4a-PZP2mteH7SsJo__lXXgLbKky3biS55mPNOkiNu5Fc4SVS-bkurBe7CZdbaL8g/s1600/_DSC0349.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="585" data-original-width="900" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5mWK8NWGqnfOYKplFe8YWYnE6mxPJKxoSXe95VK66guYopFXomY0DcDM9y3g5qLw5gX0cxlogoP4a-PZP2mteH7SsJo__lXXgLbKky3biS55mPNOkiNu5Fc4SVS-bkurBe7CZdbaL8g/s400/_DSC0349.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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The sky works up to<o:p></o:p></div>
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a familiar rich blue,<o:p></o:p></div>
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arches over street dogs,<o:p></o:p></div>
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tourists, stray passers-by.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Open windows give out<o:p></o:p></div>
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preludes by Chopin,<o:p></o:p></div>
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plates being washed.<o:p></o:p></div>
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In the give-and-take<o:p></o:p></div>
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of our corner shop,<o:p></o:p></div>
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they know where <o:p></o:p></div>
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we're coming from.<o:p></o:p></div>
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By Дом на Киното,<o:p></o:p></div>
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there’s another home<o:p></o:p></div>
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in Irish rebel songs<o:p></o:p></div>
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and ‘Into the Mystic’.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Silhouetted now,<o:p></o:p></div>
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we’re drinking beer.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Sunset echoes<o:p></o:p></div>
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the colour of trams.<o:p></o:p></div>
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It’s fine, I’m
saying,<o:p></o:p></div>
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we don’t need
a taxi,<o:p></o:p></div>
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we can walk
from here.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i style="font-family: "times new roman";">Image: </i><i style="font-family: "times new roman";"><a href="http://shideroff.com/" style="font-family: 'times new roman';" target="_blank">Marina Shiderova</a><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic;">;</span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic;"> text: </span><a href="http://recreationground.blogspot.com/" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic;" target="_blank">Tom Phillips</a><br />
<br />Colourful Starhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04470953670411813060noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42031678487787552.post-3732695222185461812018-09-08T16:15:00.005+01:002018-09-08T16:15:43.718+01:00Ленив поглед през прозореца/Idly looking out of the window<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmb0VdLJeO244a7vKo7gZRa813tD4Pgonjv1gu093jxIRnMr7D3dY7pVwyPECfnn0K24Ee2SEGsyiK9PW33DRfBruNg7NtBN7uBrVWsxA0tQ-gNnaqQn7zwb0KL844DoPmpmt4nnikUA/s1600/landscape.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="395" data-original-width="282" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmb0VdLJeO244a7vKo7gZRa813tD4Pgonjv1gu093jxIRnMr7D3dY7pVwyPECfnn0K24Ee2SEGsyiK9PW33DRfBruNg7NtBN7uBrVWsxA0tQ-gNnaqQn7zwb0KL844DoPmpmt4nnikUA/s400/landscape.jpg" width="285" /></a></div>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Running ahead of a stormfront,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
these unladen clouds might be <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
the herd of wild mules we passed,<o:p></o:p></div>
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smashed windows of vacant factories,<o:p></o:p></div>
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jammed trams along Алабин.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Pink granite, pink concrete:<o:p></o:p></div>
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peaks behind Карлово blocks<o:p></o:p></div>
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appropriate last sunlight.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Two boys walk home across<o:p></o:p></div>
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sandy moorland marooned<o:p></o:p></div>
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among earthmovers, locomotives<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
and a logo’d container<o:p></o:p></div>
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from a long-bankrupt firm.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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We’re gone in an instant –<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
rasping through tunnels<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
that bring us out into night.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Over one-lev espressos,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
he leans in and says: “The thing<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
with this whole country is<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
it holds too many poems.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br />
<br />
<i style="font-family: "times new roman";">Image: </i><i style="font-family: "times new roman";"><a href="http://shideroff.com/" style="font-family: 'times new roman';" target="_blank">Marina Shiderova</a><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic;">;</span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic;"> text: </span><a href="http://recreationground.blogspot.com/" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic;" target="_blank">Tom Phillips</a><br />
<br />Colourful Starhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04470953670411813060noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42031678487787552.post-83679438817100740222018-08-31T16:11:00.002+01:002018-08-31T16:11:43.825+01:00Неохота/Reluctance<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTk8KLBWD9dPR82mAsYt_iV4sO8NQ8Bk6lr25xMX5jW-U2jiwlVjK6Y66aA3Uk8ohPAZkwJRNWGru5yTQHGOG8Z611HRL-gQtfChd7Xyxn1UoIyTmI4LTA4eK-4suemcLARjhy_eAjxA/s1600/Autumn+hills.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="583" data-original-width="800" height="291" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTk8KLBWD9dPR82mAsYt_iV4sO8NQ8Bk6lr25xMX5jW-U2jiwlVjK6Y66aA3Uk8ohPAZkwJRNWGru5yTQHGOG8Z611HRL-gQtfChd7Xyxn1UoIyTmI4LTA4eK-4suemcLARjhy_eAjxA/s400/Autumn+hills.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> Is summer really
leaving?<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Hristo Fotev<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The broken-open figs on our path<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
are the footprints of a summer<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
that’s getting ready to leave.<o:p></o:p></div>
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So far it’s reached our gate.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Like Fotev’s, it’s reluctant.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Bags packed, but diffident,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
summer again casts an eye<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
over quiet, shaded streets,<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
over bar terraces, parks<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
and sunflower fields.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Summer's pleased with itself.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Maybe it should be.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Only the breeze in the fig tree<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
summons it: time to go.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="font-family: "times new roman";">Image: </i><i style="font-family: "times new roman";"><a href="http://shideroff.com/" style="font-family: 'times new roman';" target="_blank">Marina Shiderova</a><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic;">;</span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic;"> text: </span><a href="http://recreationground.blogspot.com/" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic;" target="_blank">Tom Phillips</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Colourful Starhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04470953670411813060noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42031678487787552.post-60280124116020680222018-08-26T16:34:00.001+01:002018-08-26T16:34:27.807+01:00Сутрин, август/Morning, August<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8SGTn6UoLWlpZv4-Uc45ALba3UkadaVpG2jSUDT6x5kRMOLjdAJpDQnXpILY7eeB2en9EeoCHr5laouX7tGkPkbkPaByzSNf4AHqezBMu2rj78MjIccjGqmKyQ6DtVblnAeWgZJhZXQ/s1600/First+Light.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="528" data-original-width="828" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8SGTn6UoLWlpZv4-Uc45ALba3UkadaVpG2jSUDT6x5kRMOLjdAJpDQnXpILY7eeB2en9EeoCHr5laouX7tGkPkbkPaByzSNf4AHqezBMu2rj78MjIccjGqmKyQ6DtVblnAeWgZJhZXQ/s400/First+Light.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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Bright sheets drying on a balcony form<o:p></o:p></div>
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the tricolour of an unknown country.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Three more belly out in the breeze,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
flailing cartoon ghost limbs.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Bird species gather in the foliage<o:p></o:p></div>
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and light patches on a plaster façade<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
track how far into day we’ve come.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Reflected planes loom across windows.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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Each broadcast song-burst is another life<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
returning from sleep, taking hold<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
as loves and allegiances restore <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
and shutters rattle up on the breakfast stall.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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The city returns to itself in the hum<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
of tram wires, the smell of fresh banitsa.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<br />
<i style="font-family: "times new roman";">Image: </i><i style="font-family: "times new roman";"><a href="http://shideroff.com/" style="font-family: 'times new roman';" target="_blank">Marina Shiderova</a><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic;">;</span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic;"> text: </span><a href="http://recreationground.blogspot.com/" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic;" target="_blank">Tom Phillips</a></div>
<br />Colourful Starhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04470953670411813060noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42031678487787552.post-63467084289073351222018-08-04T16:52:00.000+01:002018-08-04T16:56:24.749+01:00Гробището/The cemetery<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyZc6lcNQ_IMaigL2tNPTtDY-m9by7HUHygyPfxVRnWjgXS9Ob7sjwDt1VnWFHmhCEfOl-uW2hCs_cotKVQahMIX-9GujuyY-850V6TXxAK6hzWG_uciKy7BjuoqnWMLomAvjnbGpnsQ/s1600/tree+6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="712" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyZc6lcNQ_IMaigL2tNPTtDY-m9by7HUHygyPfxVRnWjgXS9Ob7sjwDt1VnWFHmhCEfOl-uW2hCs_cotKVQahMIX-9GujuyY-850V6TXxAK6hzWG_uciKy7BjuoqnWMLomAvjnbGpnsQ/s400/tree+6.jpg" width="296" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
‘Which plot are you looking for?’ he asks.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
‘I know this place. Do you want my help?’<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
He draws a long spade out of his van.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It seems that we’re to understand<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
he works here, cleaning graves.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
How we mark our dead marks us.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Here’s a pilot gazing at the stars,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
a gambler with his chips on the table,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
that young girl whose too vivid photo<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
recalls her last summer at the beach.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Are we lost? I’m hoping not<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
and try to say as much<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
before we go beyond the trees<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
into a field of broken stones.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<br />
<i style="font-family: "times new roman";">Image: </i><i style="font-family: "times new roman";"><a href="http://shideroff.com/" style="font-family: 'times new roman';" target="_blank">Marina Shiderova</a><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic;">;</span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic;"> text: </span><a href="http://recreationground.blogspot.com/" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic;" target="_blank">Tom Phillips</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />Colourful Starhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04470953670411813060noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42031678487787552.post-60713442897908218562018-07-28T15:16:00.004+01:002018-08-01T17:08:48.407+01:00Лято/Summer<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwRAIDimEcCPklX9XvgFvOY3V-M0EvLsOB6uYfvCvroiBq_TfVjro98Zmr4xA_AQLl42U3fC_7N14y-m8RrvLxATv9G0iNxaeiieLakzge-sqP3jja0ixLrwJUg3zXdEF2mv22tL-aSg/s1600/wildflowers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="395" data-original-width="340" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwRAIDimEcCPklX9XvgFvOY3V-M0EvLsOB6uYfvCvroiBq_TfVjro98Zmr4xA_AQLl42U3fC_7N14y-m8RrvLxATv9G0iNxaeiieLakzge-sqP3jja0ixLrwJUg3zXdEF2mv22tL-aSg/s400/wildflowers.jpg" width="343" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> The
days are for reading,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> the
nights for writing – <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> love
stories, if you’re in luck,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> and
if not, tales of regret,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> half-finished
bottles of wine,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> ashtrays
with dead cigarettes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Today
though the heat<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> gives
birth to rain<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> which
washes the streets<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> and
the evening brings a breeze<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> which
thins the air.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Between
high buildings,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> on patches
of waste ground,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> the wildflowers’
pale colours<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> emerge
from the grass<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> and
tell tales whose endings<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> we don’t yet know.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><b> Лято</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><b><br /></b></span>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 1em;">
За четене са дните,<br /> а нощите за писане -<br /> любовни истории, с малко късмет,<br /> ако ли не, случки, за които съжаляваш,<br /> бутилки вино, наполовина изпити,<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline; font-family: inherit;"><br /> пепелници с изтлели цигари.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"></span><br />
<div class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">
<div style="font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em;">
Но днес от горещината<br /> дъжд се ражда<br /> който измива улиците<br /> а вечерта донася бриз<br /> който въздуха разрежда.</div>
<div style="font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em;">
Между сградите високи<br /> върху късчета земя ненужна<br /> бледите краски на диви цветя<br /> от земята се показват<br /> и приказки разказват<br /> със незнаен край</div>
</div>
</div>
<br />
<i style="font-family: "times new roman";">Image: </i><i style="font-family: "times new roman";"><a href="http://shideroff.com/" style="font-family: 'times new roman';" target="_blank">Marina Shiderova</a><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic;">;</span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic;"> text: </span><a href="http://recreationground.blogspot.com/" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic;" target="_blank">Tom Phillips</a>; <i>Bulgarian translation by <a href="https://www.facebook.com/yuliyana.todorova.7?fref=mentions">Yuliana Todorova</a>.</i><br />
<br />Colourful Starhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04470953670411813060noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42031678487787552.post-13408256727747219812018-07-23T11:29:00.005+01:002018-07-23T11:29:53.631+01:00След дисхармония/After disharmony<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWGTfBD65sNaNsNO0_IIwwm4LQQCvamUTYRZ5Yiy0wrks2i8DThv7LXauaudbsmRuEPt__5yYIJTJM6YkXbWAZ1SLBwr59q9Dp-23f5A1kNHIVPuo2lzsnXqvKT2ziVNQ7RTdFO5I66A/s1600/Boris+garden.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="379" data-original-width="480" height="315" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWGTfBD65sNaNsNO0_IIwwm4LQQCvamUTYRZ5Yiy0wrks2i8DThv7LXauaudbsmRuEPt__5yYIJTJM6YkXbWAZ1SLBwr59q9Dp-23f5A1kNHIVPuo2lzsnXqvKT2ziVNQ7RTdFO5I66A/s400/Boris+garden.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Turning
away from the accident,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> the
dog passes by on the pavement,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> stops
and crosses the road <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> without
a thought.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> In
the shadow of the block opposite,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> five
people are discussing<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> neighbourhood
plans,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> the boom
in new buildings,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> and
who wants them,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> who
will live in them,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> who will
take the profits?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Finally,
something lifts<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> like
a change in the weather.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> The
simplest objects become<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> indications
and we’re no longer lost<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> among
piled words, divided loyalties,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> snatches
of songs that we hear<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> through
open windows.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> The clouds
play with the sun<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> over
the flower garden<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> where
birds argue in tune<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> and
the fruit in the trees<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> ripens
without effort.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<i style="font-family: "times new roman";">Image: </i><i style="font-family: "times new roman";"><a href="http://shideroff.com/" style="font-family: 'times new roman';" target="_blank">Marina Shiderova</a><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic;">;</span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic;"> text: </span><a href="http://recreationground.blogspot.com/" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic;" target="_blank">Tom Phillips</a>Colourful Starhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04470953670411813060noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42031678487787552.post-79528757199107260752018-07-15T19:02:00.000+01:002018-07-15T19:02:09.264+01:00Доставката на дървесина/The wood delivery<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-n8RzpFccAtSyuqDMg2U9PHswhG6rPs_fs7zC6H-K5tc5xrWZi85quk7w9YB-KkPlKJJblz3oOQdwyp_C4kHSanOaTzz3f-DDXDkv1FIIbkkgeKBqQwdsB13YTSCDOYbrFQe_N8KtzA/s1600/tree+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="669" data-original-width="900" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-n8RzpFccAtSyuqDMg2U9PHswhG6rPs_fs7zC6H-K5tc5xrWZi85quk7w9YB-KkPlKJJblz3oOQdwyp_C4kHSanOaTzz3f-DDXDkv1FIIbkkgeKBqQwdsB13YTSCDOYbrFQe_N8KtzA/s400/tree+4.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
The weekend is quiet and dry.<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Nothing’s happening.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The cloud cover comes<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
and goes without a word.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Even the dogs are confused.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
They call to each other<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
like wolves in a forest<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
that they have created themselves.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Except that … Despite the noise<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
from the radio, the lost souls<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
who search for some kind of heart<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
in the reflections in the windows<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
of public buildings,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
despite everything which points<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
to horror and fear,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
the headlines in the newspapers,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
the gossip which travels<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
through social networks<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
like waves of lightning,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
despite the forgotten loves,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
the adjusted street names,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
here are the neighbours,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
gathered outside the block,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
here is the timber truck,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
here is the fuel for next winter.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<br />
<i style="font-family: "times new roman";">Image: </i><i style="font-family: "times new roman";"><a href="http://shideroff.com/" style="font-family: 'times new roman';" target="_blank">Marina Shiderova</a><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic;">;</span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic;"> text: </span><a href="http://recreationground.blogspot.com/" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic;" target="_blank">Tom Phillips</a><br />
<br />Colourful Starhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04470953670411813060noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42031678487787552.post-32204036363696378302018-07-06T17:06:00.000+01:002018-07-06T17:06:11.538+01:00Разказ/A narrative<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKdtbEi73p-xRGq9WVgcgBLuaC0yUaPCFog12Da6uM873k9W_ZUdeHJNgr1UdPDI2_Mr8py2lf0fjEGlI7jGMTuQ1bBJ4iu_eS-SZQQ_XpiUsAF5oD8FBLLXRUl452SzuQLp5FS64_Lg/s1600/Santorini.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="626" data-original-width="900" height="277" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKdtbEi73p-xRGq9WVgcgBLuaC0yUaPCFog12Da6uM873k9W_ZUdeHJNgr1UdPDI2_Mr8py2lf0fjEGlI7jGMTuQ1bBJ4iu_eS-SZQQ_XpiUsAF5oD8FBLLXRUl452SzuQLp5FS64_Lg/s400/Santorini.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As clear and precise</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
as a calligrapher’s<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
first downstroke,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
she leant into<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
a white stucco wall.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We were new to all this,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
spectators of an elsewhere<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
we couldn’t tell <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
how to name.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The big drop at the head<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
of an aqueduct looked<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
like a history –<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
terrain of assailants –<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
or so we’d been taught<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
to assume.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Perched there,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
it was as if I could step<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
out into space<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
and gather up <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
every detail<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
as I fell.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="font-family: "times new roman";">Image: </i><i style="font-family: "times new roman";"><a href="http://shideroff.com/" style="font-family: 'times new roman';" target="_blank">Marina Shiderova</a><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic;">;</span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic;"> text: </span><a href="http://recreationground.blogspot.com/" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic;" target="_blank">Tom Phillips</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />Colourful Starhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04470953670411813060noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42031678487787552.post-716717336522269242018-07-02T17:37:00.000+01:002018-07-02T17:37:04.825+01:00Неспокоен съюз/An uneasy union<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjldk86_Fdz_fDJaWEksEvc1bJeq0DjuT1Oyo2qHSvCnLlgwNuXejN7iXCbhrLN1nvcjMIh21Rx6gY25wZLJ8c9QREbQPq-Up8VEG3Jb7Pk9w-arsTlLcQPMYJQW7FTQub2-4IqGHbwsQ/s1600/big+lake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="661" data-original-width="900" height="293" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjldk86_Fdz_fDJaWEksEvc1bJeq0DjuT1Oyo2qHSvCnLlgwNuXejN7iXCbhrLN1nvcjMIh21Rx6gY25wZLJ8c9QREbQPq-Up8VEG3Jb7Pk9w-arsTlLcQPMYJQW7FTQub2-4IqGHbwsQ/s400/big+lake.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Something disquieting about their age,<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
lined up by<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the
water’s edge.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Friends circle with cameras<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
and a girl in green dabs at her eyes,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
stares at indifferent rock walls.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Is this a shotgun wedding,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
a marriage of convenience<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
or, in the absence of parents, family,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
a romance, escape, elopement?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We listen for clues in another language.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The goldfinch over the table<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
pecks at seeds, pays no heed<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
to the blue-suited official<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
hearing their vows,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
to our whispered theories.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Something melancholic too about<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
these mussel shells, empty plates<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
dyed black with squid ink<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
while a teenage couple hesitate <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
over promises and ‘I will’.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sunlight striating the cliffs<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
towards afternoon’s end<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
doesn’t disturb the rower<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
passing into the backdrop<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
of their muted photographs.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Witnesses, uncertain about<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
what we’re witnessing,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
we’ll stand and clap with the rest<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
when he puts out his hand <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
to help her up onto the boat.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Shoeless, they’re sailing west,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
negotiating tourist islands,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
ferries crossing the fjord,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
dispersing light rain –<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
then outwards, on towards the sea.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="font-family: "times new roman";">Image: </i><i style="font-family: "times new roman";"><a href="http://shideroff.com/" style="font-family: 'times new roman';" target="_blank">Marina Shiderova</a><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic;">;</span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic;"> text: </span><a href="http://recreationground.blogspot.com/" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic;" target="_blank">Tom Phillips</a></div>
Colourful Starhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04470953670411813060noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42031678487787552.post-31288381084860795022018-06-24T18:36:00.005+01:002018-06-24T18:36:56.352+01:00Достъп/Access<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0VjjpEAwzqgztEYZAbuaGJB53aGoHrOYWn2OdDGVAqXzZx07kukS_nM4sLwcS0IeWxMo4VticfDlu6Aiox5fJyJwOriQNGNdAFJkmFnE_nq4m6iv0qhiA7Z3dfJ38-5ZY_VZFNAmUgQ/s1600/unity+and+diversity.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="848" height="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0VjjpEAwzqgztEYZAbuaGJB53aGoHrOYWn2OdDGVAqXzZx07kukS_nM4sLwcS0IeWxMo4VticfDlu6Aiox5fJyJwOriQNGNdAFJkmFnE_nq4m6iv0qhiA7Z3dfJ38-5ZY_VZFNAmUgQ/s400/unity+and+diversity.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The value light confers is not a currency.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There’s no exchange rate for these effects<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
on the underside of leaves or clouds.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There is nothing quantifiable.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s as if a soundtrack’s being put together<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
without recourse to rhythm or chords.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Passers-by are a family with child slung up<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
on fatherly shoulders, a perky-tailed dog<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
that’s sneaking in and out of refuse deposits.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Crossing the long vista of a street,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’ll have to wait where only a few nights ago<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I was stopped by the police.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
That was a routine incident.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The shop’s open. It stays open all night.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<br />
<i style="font-family: "times new roman";">Image: </i><i style="font-family: "times new roman";"><a href="http://shideroff.com/" style="font-family: 'times new roman';" target="_blank">Marina Shiderova</a><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic;">;</span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic;"> text: </span><a href="http://recreationground.blogspot.com/" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic;" target="_blank">Tom Phillips</a>Colourful Starhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04470953670411813060noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42031678487787552.post-74995322347181142032018-06-18T15:07:00.004+01:002018-06-18T15:07:45.748+01:00Товарни данни/Loading details<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ-ydhTA_6eJAmymYJplhZlcoQ1_3YunfqsCociovRyfnq4a83IKE0Uk6NharKO0Wum4IFJp1bgaKwbu5SxqLhOGj7QyX9B2UPTJ4HuVkL4NI8muJfk-v6tRZsc61yTagRw8xOBin-7Q/s1600/_DSC0355.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="610" data-original-width="900" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ-ydhTA_6eJAmymYJplhZlcoQ1_3YunfqsCociovRyfnq4a83IKE0Uk6NharKO0Wum4IFJp1bgaKwbu5SxqLhOGj7QyX9B2UPTJ4HuVkL4NI8muJfk-v6tRZsc61yTagRw8xOBin-7Q/s400/_DSC0355.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
And so let me tell you</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
what I’ve seen<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
through sliding doors –<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
things, as he said,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
on which so much depends <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
and the faces<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
of fellow travellers.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Big news kicks up<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
its clangour<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
like the trains<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
which pass on loops<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
without becoming more<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
than a sonorous rumour<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
in a distant tunnel.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So much more <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
to be said<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
of the fine detail:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
new purchases,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
arched pencilled eyebrows,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
the heirlooms gathered in a bag<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
and carried who knows where.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<i style="font-family: "times new roman";">Image: </i><i style="font-family: "times new roman";"><a href="http://shideroff.com/" style="font-family: 'times new roman';" target="_blank">Marina Shiderova</a><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic;">;</span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic;"> text: </span><a href="http://recreationground.blogspot.com/" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic;" target="_blank">Tom Phillips</a>Colourful Starhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04470953670411813060noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42031678487787552.post-17307131110416155402018-06-10T17:41:00.000+01:002018-06-10T17:41:15.375+01:00Отвъд Европеийски съюз/Beyond European Union<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzYrdjNoLIg_jH6k8Cmj_CeA1TBzm216PyX4GoLeTP0Qh75WTtKCVLC-U8Dk4EOs4vScC-2KoLk6qDl8Uk0h_D3M1sNPMmQceQ9CyHzsicT4XSs3g2MG_xpOrX08GcTaf4znxHGjtETg/s1600/_DSC0400.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="658" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzYrdjNoLIg_jH6k8Cmj_CeA1TBzm216PyX4GoLeTP0Qh75WTtKCVLC-U8Dk4EOs4vScC-2KoLk6qDl8Uk0h_D3M1sNPMmQceQ9CyHzsicT4XSs3g2MG_xpOrX08GcTaf4znxHGjtETg/s400/_DSC0400.JPG" width="291" /></a></div>
<br />
A big yellow taxi pulls up<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
where they’re planting new trees<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
on the paved forecourt of Paradise.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s Monday. We step onto<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
our respective escalators.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The mountain sits tight,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
cooks up storms<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
that might break<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
or disperse<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
over neighbourhoods<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
where passers-by<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
watch attentively<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
while we’re dropping<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
our weekly recycling<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
into colour-coded bins.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
On the paved forecourt of Paradise,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’m watching the big yellow taxi<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
where it’s just pulled up<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
and the forest on the mountain<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
sits tight beneath the coming storm.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<br />
<i style="font-family: "times new roman";">Image: </i><i style="font-family: "times new roman";"><a href="http://shideroff.com/" style="font-family: 'times new roman';" target="_blank">Marina Shiderova</a><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic;">;</span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic;"> text: </span><a href="http://recreationground.blogspot.com/" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic;" target="_blank">Tom Phillips</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />Colourful Starhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04470953670411813060noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42031678487787552.post-27356527128980259352018-06-02T16:17:00.001+01:002018-06-02T16:17:15.328+01:00Между Сердика и Жолио-Кюри/Between Serdika and Joliot-Curie<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtDW5V2hrthBGMfIRx7en-oNVnFBN_l2KtjPTExI__Jua9HseaR7VPVg5MSfOnXru0fJay6z1iYUaENYlFIG8da6odIyVP9cX_mixc9c6-rTsh1HkSlDL6oHrzzdqTODDEjMSLjWLH5g/s1600/park+and+bicycle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="652" data-original-width="900" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtDW5V2hrthBGMfIRx7en-oNVnFBN_l2KtjPTExI__Jua9HseaR7VPVg5MSfOnXru0fJay6z1iYUaENYlFIG8da6odIyVP9cX_mixc9c6-rTsh1HkSlDL6oHrzzdqTODDEjMSLjWLH5g/s400/park+and+bicycle.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> Внимание …</i> Paying
attention<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
to this morning’s momentary bustle<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
as we cram into the train,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
we’re hanging up our thoughts<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
on the carriage metalwork. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And even if <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">вратите се
затварят,<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
other doors are opening near us<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
with the plunge into the dark,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
and before we reach <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">следваща
станция<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
something else emerges between stations.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Each to our own – the mobile screen<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
cascading with icons, a folded-back book,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
these stories that spring up and proliferate –<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
what I recall is your bicycle leant against a tree.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<i style="font-family: "times new roman";">Image: </i><i style="font-family: "times new roman";"><a href="http://shideroff.com/" style="font-family: 'times new roman';" target="_blank">Marina Shiderova</a><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic;">;</span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic;"> text: </span><a href="http://recreationground.blogspot.com/" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic;" target="_blank">Tom Phillips</a><br />
<br />Colourful Starhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04470953670411813060noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42031678487787552.post-74218266341030607502018-05-27T17:47:00.000+01:002018-05-27T17:47:12.822+01:00Маргаритки/Daisies<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTaAEhWeV0-r2iXj4f212gy5ITVT_xF3wJZYRLTLHY0h9BQB6hOvTDyT1Jtd9cBBFE2x38qtFianEJP4YiB1yfx7raH-akUbqDd5hqy9dAFISV_wM5KY-tjNBF5K2n-5eAoHT0boii1w/s1600/daisies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="701" data-original-width="800" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTaAEhWeV0-r2iXj4f212gy5ITVT_xF3wJZYRLTLHY0h9BQB6hOvTDyT1Jtd9cBBFE2x38qtFianEJP4YiB1yfx7raH-akUbqDd5hqy9dAFISV_wM5KY-tjNBF5K2n-5eAoHT0boii1w/s320/daisies.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 285.0pt;">
Light determines what you look at.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 285.0pt;">
Today, for instance, the patterns<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 285.0pt;">
across these crusted facades<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 285.0pt;">
assume a Cubist air. They’re<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 285.0pt;">
flung lapidary shapes<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 285.0pt;">
against variable perspectives<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 285.0pt;">
like something instinctive<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 285.0pt;">
or work by the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">faux sauvage</i> …<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 285.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 285.0pt;">
It’s as if every unnecessary wire<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 285.0pt;">
marks out a territorial plane.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 285.0pt;">
The garden operates<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 285.0pt;">
to an entirely different geometry:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 285.0pt;">
a continual branching out,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 285.0pt;">
a breath that speculates its own
future.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<i style="font-family: "times new roman";">Image: </i><i style="font-family: "times new roman";"><a href="http://shideroff.com/" style="font-family: 'times new roman';" target="_blank">Marina Shiderova</a><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic;">;</span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic;"> text: </span><a href="http://recreationground.blogspot.com/" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic;" target="_blank">Tom Phillips</a>Colourful Starhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04470953670411813060noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42031678487787552.post-51696659908580498942018-05-20T17:33:00.000+01:002018-05-20T17:33:03.425+01:00Натюрморт с вази/Still life with vases<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqxsk-Om2F3Z6JO1jjU_ZQb6N9KG0eeNLH1iITw3zHqfU0jDjiRqV8Xc_2df-nBD66MtPnmBjA4mjzTallwZTcudKizZYQBZjDOplK9LXjimoaC1DpRl5VHHXJdVpujXUS_c0L8aMXYg/s1600/_DSC0395.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="863" data-original-width="900" height="382" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqxsk-Om2F3Z6JO1jjU_ZQb6N9KG0eeNLH1iITw3zHqfU0jDjiRqV8Xc_2df-nBD66MtPnmBjA4mjzTallwZTcudKizZYQBZjDOplK9LXjimoaC1DpRl5VHHXJdVpujXUS_c0L8aMXYg/s400/_DSC0395.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
1<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Always having to start<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
from here – notepad, sketchbook,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
crumpled torus of a metro ticket –<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
to find definition in a frame<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
where the long world’s connections<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
might be allowed to fade away …<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Saying I’ll keep my eye on things<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
scrupulously forms up<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
into a premise. These vases,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
for instance, are clearly<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
without precedent<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
in their particular arrangement –<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
albeit in recessional focus,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
the unreal real of representation.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
2<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A horn’s distant croak can’t help<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
but be a lorry in the mind’s eye –<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
we’ll take that as read: some<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
situation unfurling on the bypass<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
in changing afternoon light,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
an unarticulated insignificance.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It is not the discovery of form<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
in the scrupulous observation<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
of the actually existing<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
components of the real<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
so much as … what?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
These unfiltered things.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
John Coltrane plays himself out:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
endless variations on the air.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
3<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’d hazard a guess<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
that observation occurs<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
in the interim, the pelter<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
of blossom that cascades<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
between apartment blocks –<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
and, yes, these vases that hold<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
something resembling light<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
in their momentariness,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
in those emotive chords,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
that arrangement of fingers<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
on a fretboard, unnoticed<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
until now. That’s art,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
he said shruggingly –<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
the collector during the storm.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
4<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Nothing’s fixed. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Except, perhaps, this.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The solidity of chemicals.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Another ideology<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
that the mountain invites.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Rivers have no such concerns.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Denial is something you might shout<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
in the street. There’s a confusion<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
of pronouns at the crossroads.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s not so bad. We’re learning<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
to live with everything that changes.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Like a prototype villanelle,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
the recurrence of thoughts<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
stakes its claim at significance.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
5<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
On a Sunday morning,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
the aftermath is summed up<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
in a very few words.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<i style="font-family: "times new roman";">Image: </i><i style="font-family: "times new roman";"><a href="http://shideroff.com/" style="font-family: 'times new roman';" target="_blank">Marina Shiderova</a><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic;">;</span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic;"> text: </span><a href="http://recreationground.blogspot.com/" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic;" target="_blank">Tom Phillips</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p><br /></o:p></div>
Colourful Starhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04470953670411813060noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42031678487787552.post-4052711770733287412018-05-14T16:10:00.000+01:002018-05-14T16:10:07.155+01:00Петък/Friday<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk1Py4aKl5l9mEBSOJLX6LBKNVjmwVkyoUbjYCFw4HQuyEARSJYTnmN51z_BEOrx7CxaGagnqOLvbbak7Thv0SM4XrtOJDdOYV4YM5BsW2POUGE6flPLg5xHdIOiXwPq8wV-7U7Xciog/s1600/_DSC0378.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1210" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk1Py4aKl5l9mEBSOJLX6LBKNVjmwVkyoUbjYCFw4HQuyEARSJYTnmN51z_BEOrx7CxaGagnqOLvbbak7Thv0SM4XrtOJDdOYV4YM5BsW2POUGE6flPLg5xHdIOiXwPq8wV-7U7Xciog/s400/_DSC0378.JPG" width="301" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Two green flecks of light –<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
they're spring finches –<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
flit and dart above the heads<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
of kids out dancing the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">xopo</i><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
in the shadow of Vitosha.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s May –<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
and a conflict<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
of anniversaries plays out<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
against the logic <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
of the weather.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Who’d predict<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
that, in saving his skin,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’d be hit<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
by some anonymous force,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
laid up by it?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
You can’t always see<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
everything coming.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Least of all, fists<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
or the pink spray<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
of flowers put out<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
to gather up<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
these flecks of spring light<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
that are ripening<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
our neighbour’s cherries.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<i style="font-family: "times new roman";">Image: </i><i style="font-family: "times new roman";"><a href="http://shideroff.com/" style="font-family: 'times new roman';" target="_blank">Marina Shiderova</a><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic;">;</span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic;"> text: </span><a href="http://recreationground.blogspot.com/" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic;" target="_blank">Tom Phillips</a>Colourful Starhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04470953670411813060noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42031678487787552.post-44167093542713402642018-05-07T14:42:00.003+01:002018-05-07T14:42:44.443+01:00Вид на очакване/Air of anticipation<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidG5R34cXXo7TQRQ6V_3DESevWbGI319B_fhZaB5n2FJURNsvFihF4xEO3z1ZDQe0tb2qGPH_arENzuVlv8-L8ylhjMSGxKKcONJMaX8oru7yossi44rMqwA2yS3sxqQfH_ofCpdeVbg/s1600/_DSC0400.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1170" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidG5R34cXXo7TQRQ6V_3DESevWbGI319B_fhZaB5n2FJURNsvFihF4xEO3z1ZDQe0tb2qGPH_arENzuVlv8-L8ylhjMSGxKKcONJMaX8oru7yossi44rMqwA2yS3sxqQfH_ofCpdeVbg/s400/_DSC0400.JPG" width="292" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gleaning a broken road surface, <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
pigeons hold out<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
until it’s almost too late<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
to escape a taxi turning into the street.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As if it’s torn loose from a different sky,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
a square of blue moves through<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
the deepening overcast.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Pathfinding for echeloned jets<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
rehearsing for tomorrow’s parade,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 182.25pt;">
it passes from east to west.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 182.25pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 182.25pt;">
On the face of it, we’re in for change
–<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 182.25pt;">
or more likely a recurrence –<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 182.25pt;">
as the old guard practise their
footwork<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 182.25pt;">
and the rain, when it comes,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 182.25pt;">
brings green back to the trees<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 182.25pt;">
and washes out all consequence.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<br />
<i style="font-family: "times new roman";">Image: </i><i style="font-family: "times new roman";"><a href="http://shideroff.com/" style="font-family: 'times new roman';" target="_blank">Marina Shiderova</a><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic;">;</span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic;"> text: </span><a href="http://recreationground.blogspot.com/" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic;" target="_blank">Tom Phillips</a>Colourful Starhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04470953670411813060noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42031678487787552.post-67942404877222562652018-04-29T16:27:00.000+01:002018-04-29T17:30:45.221+01:00Завръщането/The return<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY9s3Spg0d9SG_SGGON3EwxMviBlhdzbu6XBMSL3Zm0qaYKTAXxHX4yi31t18JpGICgrWdE5oVtK4UHDKlumLlKF79WA1OeIh8sQ7_i9nu60JJ0ULCwFQtYS4AK-9qd1UoOA9NPZGlUA/s1600/Boris+garden.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="379" data-original-width="480" height="315" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY9s3Spg0d9SG_SGGON3EwxMviBlhdzbu6XBMSL3Zm0qaYKTAXxHX4yi31t18JpGICgrWdE5oVtK4UHDKlumLlKF79WA1OeIh8sQ7_i9nu60JJ0ULCwFQtYS4AK-9qd1UoOA9NPZGlUA/s400/Boris+garden.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Adjusting to an elsewhere again,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
it's not easy when the price of beer soars<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
from two leva fifty for two litres<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
to five pounds a pint<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
and the temperature drops<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
from the twenties to the teens.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Here’s a street scene from one city:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
a blustery gang blows in,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
all swagger and slang on the cobbles.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
They’re out for a good time<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
and a late taxi home. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The language is recognisable.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I know its games.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I can speak it unplanned.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Now here’s one from another:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
consonants blur from an intercom<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
as a couple outside an apartment block<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
negotiate their way in. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dogs bark and the supper plates<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
go down on outdoor tables.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s a street where memories collide<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
like these two women with dyed hair</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
who do their best to avoid each other.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’m doing as much as the guy<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
from the house opposite<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
who’s moseying down to the bins<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
to have a look at the day’s detritus<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
not to have any opinion at all.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
With only an expected effort,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
it seems that we have come home.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p><br /></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="font-family: "times new roman";">Image: </i><i style="font-family: "times new roman";"><a href="http://shideroff.com/" style="font-family: 'times new roman';" target="_blank">Marina Shiderova</a><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic;">;</span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic;"> text: </span><a href="http://recreationground.blogspot.com/" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic;" target="_blank">Tom Phillips</a></div>
Colourful Starhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04470953670411813060noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42031678487787552.post-3644348780715399292018-04-19T20:46:00.001+01:002018-04-19T20:46:53.204+01:00Прикачване/An attachment<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK4COEG3mAQWIkVKhB0YkeU-aUZIEzsnvX_dpebp-EthwcBpR0kc9FzebTwqtWV5MgocDSir2NSMZdQvC-FTNO1YKcF0o4Q1urW5TebDvC40bnwupJ4NnPtCGMJd2paH1aW8OEnRLBZw/s1600/park+and+bicycle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="652" data-original-width="900" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK4COEG3mAQWIkVKhB0YkeU-aUZIEzsnvX_dpebp-EthwcBpR0kc9FzebTwqtWV5MgocDSir2NSMZdQvC-FTNO1YKcF0o4Q1urW5TebDvC40bnwupJ4NnPtCGMJd2paH1aW8OEnRLBZw/s400/park+and+bicycle.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Stealthily the trees have come into leaf<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
on <i>Екзарх Йосиф </i>and <i>Искър</i><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
and each day now our mountain is greening:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
its lighter burden moves up and off its shoulders.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
You’ll see it when you come over the brow of <i>Левски.</i><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
I can meet you somewhere nearby –</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
outside the Art Academy, say,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
or the university metro bookstore.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We could walk then to <i>Орлов Мост</i><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
and on into <i>Борисова</i>.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The banks of yellow tulips will be out<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
and we might spot frogs amongst the lilies.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It depends on how much time you have –<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
and what you say we need to talk about.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Maybe we’ll sit on the grass<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
where the jugglers and rope-walkers train<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
or couples practise samba steps in silence.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If you like, we could buy iced peach tea<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
and find a bench that’s shaded by lindens.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I can’t know what you think <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
but I will wait for you<o:p></o:p><br />
somewhere you can watch the snow<br />
melting from <i>Витоша</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
and if you wear that bright blue <i>шал</i><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I will know you in the crowd.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<i style="font-family: "times new roman";">Image: </i><i style="font-family: "times new roman";"><a href="http://shideroff.com/" style="font-family: 'times new roman';" target="_blank">Marina Shiderova</a><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic;">;</span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic;"> text: </span><a href="http://recreationground.blogspot.com/" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic;" target="_blank">Tom Phillips</a></div>
<br />Colourful Starhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04470953670411813060noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42031678487787552.post-1562180177516419432018-04-16T16:16:00.007+01:002018-04-16T16:16:52.201+01:00Друг изглед от един стол/Another view from a chair<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-4-Ihyphenhyphenf_UH0OG-_UUy06KzXrwMI5aQ9kUdQkPH9rwMXHO0uAPXh1zN6tAgvV2mrW2EBgERfCTTlPcbPP-9131wBdjYrcJgfUSZGzMvkRVTCM-_wSxdHjlBI7hsP90gwS5qqxGMBgdrA/s1600/new+chair.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="673" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-4-Ihyphenhyphenf_UH0OG-_UUy06KzXrwMI5aQ9kUdQkPH9rwMXHO0uAPXh1zN6tAgvV2mrW2EBgERfCTTlPcbPP-9131wBdjYrcJgfUSZGzMvkRVTCM-_wSxdHjlBI7hsP90gwS5qqxGMBgdrA/s400/new+chair.jpg" width="280" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Magpies screak as they stake out the rooftops.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Time passes, unbeloved. It’s Sunday afternoon<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
and we’re letting it slip by. The hours hang<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
from hooks like unused human implements<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
or drift at the threshold like fruit trees’ confetti.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A chair is a brute fact in the world. It asks<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
to be nothing more than what we find in it –<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
or place on it as we bring it into use:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
metaphorical composure, a stillness,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
a comfort, a vantage, a point of view …<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Nor are the magpies clamouring for attention.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Nor is love arguing for a place outside time.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A chair sits undisturbed in the yard opposite,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
its frame and seat flecked with white blossom.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="font-family: "times new roman";">Image: </i><i style="font-family: "times new roman";"><a href="http://shideroff.com/" style="font-family: 'times new roman';" target="_blank">Marina Shiderova</a><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic;">;</span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic;"> text: </span><a href="http://recreationground.blogspot.com/" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic;" target="_blank">Tom Phillips</a></div>
<br />Colourful Starhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04470953670411813060noreply@blogger.com