Quiet DefianceIt seems the rainy days will never end.
Not for the timid to insist on having the daily dose
of coffee and newspaper in the outdoors.
You also need waiters ready to risk
getting wet while sprinting between the
should the clouds decide it's about time to visit another
round of showers upon the intrepid.
It may have to do with genes,
or childhood conditioning, like the
Salzburg childhood summers with my grandparents.
A few clouds would not hold us back
from enjoying days by the lake. If it rained,
we'd play cards under some makeshift shelter
or go for a round of miniature golf.
In my memory the rainy days by the lake
were sheer bliss, balsam for the soul,
no hurry, a blessed languid mood
taking ahold of all of us.
I imagine the people in the picture
falling asleep to the sound of rain,
the room filled with mountain air,
their dreams with strawberry Napoleons.
*
Photographed
at Café-Konditorei Zauner
Esplanade along the Traun river
Bad Ischl
Salzkammergut
Upper Austria
Image and Text
© by Merisi
I love the rain on a summers day. I also loved Cafe Konditorei Zauner when I was there a few weeks ago.
ReplyDeleteOh Merisi, we so much need the rains to come here, send them over. Hot, humid, dry and just plain miserable and not even August yet~
ReplyDeleteThat phrase "balsam for the soul" intrigued me, and so I googled it. This is what I found:
ReplyDelete"Liquor Hepatis was the name given to a sulfurous liquid used by the
alchemists. Considered the arcanum of the soul, Liquor Hepatis was
prepared by distilling a solution of sulfur, lime, and sal ammoniac.
The early alchemists secured lime (calcium oxide) by heating
limestone and made sal ammoniac (ammonium chloride) by gently
heating camel dung in sealed containers. The distillation for Liquor
Hepatis produced a combination of hydrogen sulfide and ammonia
gases. Since no solids precipitated, alchemists considered this an
ascending reaction only. That was a significant fact to the
Egyptians, who associated the Liquor with the soul. They believed
the soul resided in the liver, and the reddish-brown color of Liquor
Hepatis convinced them they had isolated the soul's essence. The
name comes from "hepar," the Greek word for liver. The Liquor exuded
an unnatural, pungent odor that the alchemists found quite
mysterious. They assumed it was due to an ethereal presence
concealed in the sulfur and activated by the fertile principle in
ammonia. To the Egyptians, the odor symbolized a soul or a
spiritized presence hidden within the liquid. They solidified that
presence by adding wax and fat to Liquor Hepatis and turning it into
a thick paste. The emulsion became known as the Balsam of the
Alchemists or Balsam of the Soul. The possibility of coagulating an
invisible potential into a second body, like a balsam, became a
basic tenet of alchemy."
Lovely, Merisi! When I first saw this post, I thought I was looking at a painting, and I thought...hmmmm...I'm not familiar with this wonderful artist! So yes, languid, and ethereal. Your words are so evocative here...
ReplyDeleteYour imagery of a rainy night in the mountains makes me sigh in desire. Cool summer nights - a distant memory.
ReplyDeletePopping by to say hello, Merisi and enjoyed you post very much. Very best wishes ~ Eddie
ReplyDeleteSounds so nice to seat at a Café.
ReplyDeleteHave a pleasant weekend.
Everyone seems to be sweltering in the States. Images of this cool, damp loveliness are a balm to them -- if not to you!
ReplyDeleteI hope some sun touches down in Vienna soon. xx
It's been the same in Warsaw and the cafes on the Royal Mile look the same.
ReplyDelete'a blessed languid mood ' pervades this post...
ReplyDeleteI would like a little languidness right NOW!!!