Red Rose © 2012 Mufidah Kassalias
Winter Rose
winter rose
a solitary blossom framed
against the pale blue sky
standing tall
reaching towards the cool sun
a falling of snow
soft flakes fluttering
floating down, earth bound
carpeting the alpine rocks
gathering on the leaves and petals
blood red rose
half covered with white —
a ray of hope
the promise of Spring
a beautiful death
A couple of days ago, in one of Sean’s writing classes (which are held in our apartment), we did a collective ‘word hoard’ in which everyone contributes to a long list of words, rather like word association. We started with the word ‘sunshine’ and ended with ‘roses’; then we underlined words or phrases that resonated, before choosing one of those words to write in response to for the next ten minutes. My word was ‘roses’, and the above poem was the result. However, I must acknowledge Nandini Dhiman’s post on her blog, Life Just Is, for the inspiration.
As I didn’t have a photograph of a red rose covered with snow, I looked through my library and found a photograph of a pale yellow rose, which I post-processed by adding a deep red filter along with manipulating various colour channels.
~ Red Rose was post-processed in response to Winter Rose.
Words and image © 2012 Mufidah Kassalias
The rose is very sumptuous Mufidah, as are your words. Lovely.
Thank you Karen :-)
Beautiful poem. It has a soothing sense that wakes up the spirit.
Thank you, Thomas, for your kind words. Much appreciated.
Beautiful capture of the rose and love the poem, really nice..:)
Thanks, Helen :-)
Lovely image, soft words.
Thank you , Mike :-)
This is such a lovely post – the words are beautiful and pair so well with the image of the rose. I really enjoyed this – the poem is really inspiring.
Thank you, Marina, for this lovely comment. Good to know you find the poem inspiring :-)
I think you’ve done a good job with the tones on the rose. When I’ve taken similar pictures to this, it’s never come out as well balanced.
Thank you. I wasn’t sure the original image wasn’t the best starting point, as there were some blown highlights, but I used ‘recover highlights’ in Aperture, then went into Photoshop to change it from pale yellow to red. After finalising this image, I tried to do the same using a different rose image, but it wasn’t possible to manipulate the colours as effectively, so … not every image lends itself to such manipulation, and those that you may think won’t work do! I guess it’s a case of experimenting.
beautiful image Mufidah. the lighting is very interesting and the shadows add a bit of depth that brings out the form and shape of the flower to a close real life representation.
Thanks, Abu. The original rose was yellow tinged with pink, which helped to create depth and shadow at the top. Also, that part of the rose had less direct sunlight than the lower left petals. So I guess it was a fortunate combination!
I can virtually feel the texture of those velvety petals. Beautiful.
Thanks, David :-)
Very, very evocative post!
Thanks, Kerry :-)
Your poem truly reflects the snow and the rose. A perfect match for my photo. Thanks for sharing this, Mufidah, and for mentioning my post here. I’m grateful! :)
And such a beautiful rose photo. I’m in love with it. Such vivid colors. :)
Thank you Nandini! Aand really happy to know you think it’s a perfect match for your photo :-)
Love your photo a bright spot in my day!
Thank you, that’s kind :-)
Beautiful array of color and texture, emerging and receding, a great match to your lovely poem. Nicely done Mufidah.
Thanks, Noel, for your thoughtful comment, much appreciated :-)
Love the poem, how I wish I could write like that! Very nice PP, I believe one wouldn’t have known it wasn’t red to start out!
Thanks, David :-) I started with a rose which really lent itself to being turned red, but later that day I picked another from my library to see what I could do with it but it wasn’t so willing to be subjected to post-processing!
The rose has a special glamor, is often the essence of the inspiration for the soul and heart.
Walking through your lyrics are wonderful¡¡¡
Thank you Carlos! Yes, roses are beautiful flowers — I like what you say about them being inspirational for the soul and heart :-)
What fun to gather together for a game of word play.
Yes, it’s a really enjoyable exercise and a great starting place for short free writing sessions.
Beautiful image Mufidah!
Thanks, Adrian :-)
Absolutely gorgeous, Mufidah! Great words too. :)
Thanks, Katie!
It’s a lovely picture of a rose. And so are the words. Great colours, great light, great composition. And the words: Full of emotions, touching and inspiration.
Thank you, Otto, for your kind words :-)
Beautiful – poem and photo!
Thanks, Fergiemoto :-)
Such a perfect specimen, and you’ve captured it very nicely.
Thank you for your kind comment, much appreciated :-)
Beautiful Photograph of the rose and beautifully written post Mufidah,. Both the photograph & your words complement each other in this post. Really you did a great job with this post. Liked this one a lot. :)
gorgeous picture and lovely poem!
Thank you, Francina, for your kind words.
Wow! Great stuff