The poetry of Rainer Maria Rilke has been enlightening my mornings, as spring turns into summer. I wake, brew a cup of black coffee, sit by my front window under the shade of the sycamore tree, and let the poet's verses awaken me to the spiritual and sentimental possibilities of the day. On a bright, … Continue reading Rilke: Gazing at Gardens
Lao Tzu, Rumi, David, Emerson, Wordsworth, Gibran, and Mary Oliver have taught me, over the years, that I never finish reading a book of wisdom poetry. When I read the last psalm, song, or poem, I simply put the book down for a while--sometimes for a few years--until one day whim, genius, or spiritual thirst … Continue reading Mary Oliver: American Primitive
Se suceden los días y las noches primaverales y en cada momento, cada detalle, percibo un renacimiento neoyorquino, natural y social. Peral de Callery (Pyrus calleryana) El renacimiento social todavía lo estoy viviendo y ponderando. Al primero lo impulsa Natura Naturans. Se manifiesta como Natura Naturata en los brotes y florecimientos de azafranes, magnolias, cerezos, … Continue reading Renacimiento natural
I welcomed April by visiting the Brooklyn Botanic Garden on a cool, sunny day. Nature then blessed me with the gift of daffodils. My friends and I were cutting across from the Native Flora Garden towards the Shakespeare Garden when we came upon Daffodil Hill. To our exhilaration, the hill was covered by white, yellow, … Continue reading Dancing with the Daffodils
Dry oak leaves slide over the milky-white and grey-green ice and turn and dance with the cold wind like winter butterflies. Winter Scene: Ice over Prospect Lake, Brooklyn
As I discuss Ralph W. Emerson's Nature with my students, I have been pondering the rocks at the southeast point of Playa Colonia, in Costa Rica's Parque Nacional Marino Ballena. The central question Emerson poses in his seminal essay—the cornerstone of his philosophical vision—is: "To what end is Nature?" This is a question of final … Continue reading Sea-beaten Rocks
De manera desconcertante y maravillosa, la Passiflora alata que sembramos en mi jardín durante la cuarentena de Semana Santa del 2020, ha florecido por primera vez este mes de diciembre, al cerrarse el convulso, gozoso y doloroso, 2021. Primera flor, acompañada de perfil por el segundo botón: 9 de diciembre, 2021 ¿Por qué justamente ahora? … Continue reading Maravilla: Primera floración
In this joyful day of Thanksgiving, I share the grateful hearts that I saw during my most recent walk through Lankester Botanic Garden, in Cartago, Costa Rica. I had not noticed before how abundant heart-shaped leaves are in the tropics. But these green, hopeful hearts revealed themselves to me everywhere. They were omnipresent, like the … Continue reading Grateful Hearts // Corazones agradecidos
En la última tarde de verano, soleada y cálida, fuimos a visitar el Jardín Botánico de Brooklyn. En el prado encontramos a una peregrina deleitándose en el corazón de oro de unas flores lila, de belleza divina. Las flores eran Symphyotrichum novae-angliae (New England Aster, en inglés). Una mariposa monarca (Danaus plexippus), viajera con rumbo … Continue reading La viajera y la obrera
Una de las claves para vivir una vida peripatética es mantener presente y vigoroso el vínculo íntimo con la naturaleza creativa --Natura naturans-- y la naturaleza creada --Natura naturata-- en las transiciones entre un ambiente natural y otro, entre una comunidad y otra, entre los territorios que me acogen en mis andares. He regresado del … Continue reading Flores de transición
Daniel G. Campos 