The line is thinly drawn between joy and sorrow


So I'll continue to continue to pretend
My life will never end,
And flowers never bend
With the rainfall.
(Flowers Never Bend With the Rainfall, Simon and Garfunkel)


The song still resonates in my head. Perhaps from musings on last week’s floral photos. It’s been a while since I’ve listened to the song… probably decades. And in listening it brought back myriads of memories. Some pleasant. Some not. I seem to recall in first hearing the song my reaction: This is deep. The poet is honest and recognizes that life is meaningless. In moving on, he pretends that life goes on. This is a brave stance. If life is meaningless, why live? Questions such as “what shall I wear today?” or “what’s for breakfast?” seem rather trivial compared to the existential question of “how then shall I live?” So it was with this mindset that I work on this image yesterday. It’s not much of a floral image… almost plain Jane to be quite frank. Even the variety of floral is typically unheralded. Not just ignored but seen as a nuisance whenever she sprouts on our concrete walkways. Yet it is those qualities that attract me to it. I can so relate to it. Hope you enjoy. Cheers.

Featured Comments:

You’re so right, these flowers grew like weeds in our yard as a kid and I remember pulling them off, blowing on the petals and then tossing the stems as though they were “meaningless” little flowers. But, perhaps, that’s where there beauty lies, in the joy they bring (aw, talk about deep, lol). I get what you’re saying about life being meaningless, but in my belief, it is. In other words, I believe it’s more about the experiences and the relationships we foster rather than what you wore or how much money you had, even though we all at some point put importance on those things. It’s good to remind ourselves, when we get overwhelmed that life really is meaningless and for me sometimes it takes the burden off. Thanks again for sharing. It’s a lovely picture. Simple, but lovely. -- R

I think the words and the possibility of the dandelion blowing away to non existence goes well with the words. -- L

Prickly!  Since I work in my garden, not as often as I would like, prickly is the word I would use.  Actually, even though the flowers life ends, it continues to give new life.  “Life cycles go round and round.”  Thank you for sharing. -- RP

I never tire of looking at dandelion puffs – I’m not sure what it is about them.  As many pictures as I’ve taken and that I’ve seen of them, each one is unique.  This one is like nature’s mandala – and I love the way the stem fades at the end, very artistic!  So I have to ask Rob – did you pull out some of the seeds or was this what was left of it?  Either way, nicely done! -- S

Now why would you think I would pull out them seeds out of innocent dandelion? (LOL)  I assure you no one was hurt in the photo op. -- Rob

read RB comments



Comments

Mark Wade said…
Perhaps no color...but plain she is not
Anonymous said…
Hi Rob, I often thought if Bob Dylan could hold a tune he also would have been a great song writer just like Paul Simon. :-0 LOL. Love the shot, great lens. Keep well. Tony
PS Had to type in ''fleur" how apt.
Rob Castro said…
hey tony... may have to disagree with you... true dylan may not be able to hold a tune but that's arguable... who is to say that he didn't intended it that way? now he may be tone deaf - that i could see :-)

cheers - r
Rob Castro said…
cheers, mark... always nice to read your comments

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