Monday, March 8, 2010

the mermaid's lagoon

003hjz.jpg
If you shut your eyes and are a lucky one, 
you may see at times a shapeless pool of lovely pale colours suspended in the darkness;
007ic.jpg
then if you squeeze your eyes tighter, the pool begins to take shape,
010vv.jpg
and the coulours become so vived that with another squeeze they must go on fire. 
But just before they go on fire you see the lagoon.
0111l.jpg
This is the nearest you ever get to it on the mainland, just one heavenly moment;
011exr.jpg
if there could be two moments you might see the surf and hear the mermaids singing.
012va.jpg
The children often spent long summer days on this lagoon, swimming or floating most of the time, playing the mermaid games in the water, and so forth.
0151e.jpg
You must not think from this that the mermaids were on friendly terms with them;
015wm.jpg
on the contrary, it was among Wendy's lasting regrets that all the time she was on the island she never had a civil word from one of them.
0161o.jpg
When she stole softly to the the edge of the lagoon she might see them by the score,
016dk.jpg
especially on Marooners' Rock, where they loved to bask,
017ms.jpg
combing out their hair in a lazy way that quite irritated her;
019yf.jpg
or she might even swim, on tiptoe as it were, within a yard of them,
021fd.jpg
but then they saw her and dived,
0241s.jpg
probably splashing her with their tails,
024k.jpg
not by accident, but intentionally. 



excerpt from Peter Pan by James M. Barrie
photographs by Kava Gorna


How has spring crept up on us so suddenly?
It was not at all announced.
Strange, strange weather in New York.
hope you're all feeling the lovely sun.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

I'm catching up on my google reader and couldn't help but comment that i looooove this post. peter pan is my hands-down favorite book of all time, and this is one of the reasons--it's just gorgeous. thanks for making me think of it, and happy Easter weekend!