Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Old Postcard Wednesday—Freight train on the Meailles viaduct curve, Provence, France


(Railways of Provence -Freight train on the viaduct curve Méailles)


(This line of Railway narrow gauge connects 
NICE WORTHY. Based on the French Riviera, it 
rises up to 1000m. altitude of the valleys 
of the Var and Verdon.)


This old postcard attracted my attention because of the beauty of the singular autumnal tree on the hillside beyond the railway. It seems like the perfect image to celebrate the beginning of autumn this coming Saturday. I have never seen anything quite like that tree since most of our evergreen trees in the Pacific Northwest are conical like the trees on the hillside here, but of course they do not change color. The postcard tree's glorious, bright color does not look like the dull browns of a dead or dying tree. I find it so mysterious and perplexing that it makes me wonder if it wasn't the tree that caught the photographer's eye more than anything else in the scene. We'll never know.

In keeping with our French theme, the well-loved poem by Paul Verlaine:

Autumn Song by Paul Verlaine

With long sobs
the violin-throbs
of autumn wound
my heart with languorous
and montonous
sound.

Choking and pale
When I mind the tale
the hours keep,
my memory strays
down other days
and I weep;

and I let me go
where ill winds blow
now here, now there,
harried and sped,
even as a dead
leaf, anywhere.




Tiré du DVD "Léo Ferré chante les poètes" (1986 - Théâtre libertaire de Paris)
[From the DVD "Léo Ferré sings poets" (1986 - Paris Theatre libertarian)]

Chanson d'automne by Paul Verlaine

Les sanglots longs
Des violons
De l'automne
Blessent mon cœur
D'une langueur
Monotone.

Tout suffocant
Et blême, quand
Sonne l'heure,

Je me souviens
Des jours anciens
Et je pleure ;

Et je m'en vais
Au vent mauvais
Qui m'emporte
Deçà, delà,
Pareil à la
Feuille morte.


.

7 comments:

Don't Feed The Pixies said...

Roger McGough:

Waving at Trains

Do people who wave at trains
Wave at the driver, or at the train itself?
Or, do people who wave at trains
Wave at the passengers? Those hurtling strangers,
The unidentifiable flying faces?

They must think we like being waved at.
Children do perhaps, and alone
In a compartment, the occasional passenger
Who is himself a secret waver at trains.
But most of us are unimpressed.

Some even think they’re daft.
Stuck out there in a field, grinning.
But our ignoring them, our blank faces,
Even our pulled tongues and up you signs
Come three miles further down the line.

Out of harm’s way by then
They continue their walk.
Refreshed and made pure, by the mistaken belief
That their love has been returned,
Because they have not seen it rejected.

It’s like God in a way. Another day
Another universe. Always off somewhere.
And left behind, the faithful few,
Stuck out there. Not a care in the world.
All innocence. Arms in the air. Waving.

Don't Feed The Pixies said...

for me, however, i like the bridge - there's something a bit inspiring about the fact that some architect looked at that valley and saw how to plan a way through

I can just imagine some family sat at the base, having a picnic, waving at trains (hence the poem by Roger McGough)

Lydia said...

Pixies~ Thank you for posting this great poem. I love it.
Your observation of the bridge is spot on, my friend.

Anonymous said...

That tree makes me think of the two or three aspens we saw turning leaves yesterday. I got so excited I surprised Joe.

I love autumn. I never feel quite as at home as I do this time of year. Now if it would cool down and rain...

Lydia said...

Amber Lee~ Your name is perfect for autumn!
It is my favorite time of year. I took a long drive in the country yesterday and felt simultaneously excited and at peace.

Folkways Note Book said...

I do think the photographer's eye spotted that dash of color in the forest of green -- it brings the eye down to the colors of the grasses and trees. I do like your old postcards on Wednesdays. -- barbara

Kay Cooke said...

Thank you both words and image are beautiful - and the comments too I enjoyed very much. :)We are into Spring here in the Antipodes. But I love Autumn - I love all the seasons really for their different characteristics.

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