At times, our inner landscapes allow for communing with nature’s elements. Ana has this knack in Course of Mirrors. As long as she remembers to calm her heart, she senses invisible presences, the timeless spirit within things – telling her that nothing dies, only reforms. She also picks up thoughts forms from uncluttered minds, and some animals talk to her.
Aspects of my protagonist’s receptive traits are based on my own experiences, expressed in a poem I composed during the 1970s. The poem, as such, does not feature in the novel but I like to share it here, with minor tweaks insisted upon by my inner editor.
meetings
earth –
you swallow my hand
giving way with fluid grace
to this dream of flesh and bone
yet as I recall the form
you allow me to retrieve it
tree –
circling round and round
spun by the mesh of time
I see your whirling
and sense my turning too
in its mystic trance
snake –
you slither in the spine of waves
and lay a track of fate in sands
entranced I follow
to your cave and become
this rushing in the dark
bird –
your rising pitch one vow
winging yonder blue
towards the break of dawn
above the silver winding stream
your passing leaves no mark
rose –
by the blink of eye you sink
to my core as glowing cipher
allowing for your lush
and fragrant state
to unfurl from the heart
fire –
your white breath burns clean
dark corners in my mind
without a moment’s pause
you blow apart
all apparitions of my art
Update: My first novel can be found on Troubador, on international Amazon sites and Waterstones via searching for the title, Course of Mirrors, or my name, Ashen Venema. The e-book is now available. The paperback will be released on 28th of April and can be pre-ordered.
Paperbacks ordered within the UK will come from a stock of copies held by Troubador who distribute via Orca Book Services. Orders from abroad will be print-on-demand- copies, saving expensive postage.
If you enjoy writing reviews, they are easy to post on Troubador. On Amazon sites one has to log in as a customer, and a review entry only appears on the site of the country where it is entered, be it uk, de, fr, com … and so on. With a little effort reviews can be pasted into more than one Amazon site.
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Reblogged this on KATE JACK'S BLOG.
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Thanks Kate ☼ ☼ ☼
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Lovely poem. Hoping to get started on the novel this week…
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Lucky me. I hope you enjoy the read.
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Very evocative. I love the imagery… Just what I needed on an evening of freezing drizzle. Thank you for sharing!
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Thanks Cathy. We have sunshine in England, and apple blossoms are slowly beginning to float free, but it’s chilly, too cold to sit outside. I just saw your comment re: the competitions.
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Lovely poem. Will look out for yr book. It’s one that still stands out in my mind from our Authonomy days. Many congratulations, at last!
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Thank you Jane. Letting a book go is like letting a child wander out into the world. Will look out for yours soon. Now the Kindle app on my laptop is fixed I can access e-books again.
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Woohoo congratulations on releasing the book! Motivates me 🙂 Beautiful poetry
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Thanks. You’re the motivator 🙂
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Love the oneness, just perfect for this moment when it seems so many of us are taking time to contemplate.
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Wonderful, you led me back to this poem I shared three years ago. Thank you Cath. And, yes, hopefully people use the present pause of the usual business to contemplate their relationship with nature, within and without.
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