Bereft And Bold

foundation

between concept and vision is fear.

fear is, at once, a bond and divider. 

it's the quantity of that idiom that

determines beginnings.  use it

sparingly, and you begin.  fear is

the foundation of bereft and bold.

Photo/Poem © 2015 Rick Burnett Baker 

All Rights Reserved

Restless

                                  Click on images to enlarge

                      surrender

                      tonight is not my muse.

                      daylight surrendered. 

                      memory portends death,

                      but frees its anthem.  

                      I'm captive to seasonal

                      toil, violent beauty of 

                      winter.  spring renews,

                      and I, too, am restless.

Photos/Poem © 2015 Rick Burnett Baker 

City Scenes LIV: Choices

not my scene 



walls close 
in.  

we have 
options, 

each door 
a portal, 

every window
a view.  

light begets
distraction: 

after all, we 
made 

choices.  




Photo/poem © 2015 Rick Burnett Baker 
All Rights Reserved

Porches, Portals, and Windows: Brockport, New York

A short drive to Brockport, NY after lunch today offered a few pleasant scenes.  I drove around the streets in the center of the village near State University of New York at Brockport.  This morning, the beginning of the second week of spring, we woke up to about three inches of snow.  At least the sun was shining, but it was barely above about 25℉  (-4℃).

Here are a few of the doors, windows and porches I snapped along the way.

Photos © 2015 Rick Burnett Baker
All Rights Reserved

Sense Of Place

"In seeking, we belong. 

 Silent mists shelter our 

sense of place."

  

-Rick Burnett Baker

Photo/Text © 2015 Rick Burnett Baker 

All Rights Reserved 

Photo taken March 26, 2015 at Letchworth State Park, New York. 

City Scenes LIII: Prison Of Fear

viewpoint 

looking down is the barrier. 

clear views can be fantasy,

can be imagination. reality

is the prisoner of our fears.

eyes in the back of our heads

are memories of history. 

they watch our hearts.  we  

watch our feet.  direction is 

framed beyond these walls.  

Photo/Poem © 2015 Rick Burnett Baker 

All Rights Reserved

City Scenes LII: Renewed

those dreams renewed

we'll tell the porch our secrets

when spring arrives, before 

summer swelters.  conjure up

the casbah, candlelight, and wine.

this ark of vision is our pleasure.

the city is our orchestra.  music 

is the reason we kiss or dance.  

night is the cover for last year's 

dreams;  that flower in your hair. 

Photo/Poem © 2015 Rick Burnett Baker 

City Scenes LI (51)

                                   Click on image to enlarge:

montage 

with fire in your head, 

unflinching eyes gaze 

knowingly.  your stare 

melts ice.  gapped facades

reveal the backlash of your

reason.  you're someone's 

project.  life's montage is 

temporary. empty. forever. 

where go you're dreams?  

Photo/Poem © 2015 Rick Burnett Baker 

All Rights Reserved 

No More Days Till Spring

Where we all came to be

There are no more days till Spring.
Watch the snow retreat.

Hear the ground become dry.
Feel pastel clouds soften

the bite of winter, as the sun
begins to linger into night.

Leave the city for a day then
remember where we all came to be.

Photo/Poem © 2015 Rick Burnett Baker 

All Rights Reserved

Windows, Porches and Patios: Waiting For Life

Only a few days remain until Spring arrives.  Officially, that is.  But the deep freeze of winter has broken.  The snow is melting.  The skunks are stirring from their winter slumber.  The deer are plentiful as grass appears from beneath ice, and new food sources begin to appear.   Two evenings ago I could distinctly catch the fragrance of spring and summer rain in the night air.  I even saw a fly, of all things, on my car windshield yesterday!

As seasons transition, the city begins to melt.  People are out walking, wearing fewer layers, and thinking about gardens, flowers, and satin breezes.

This afternoon I put the phone away, turned off the computer, and went into familiar neighborhoods I've photographed countless times.  As I've said previously, every journey down the road offers different perspectives from different directions.

It's the same with seasons in the city.  Here are a few photos from this afternoon in Rochester, NY.

Windows, porches, and patios are waiting:  Waiting for life renewed.

Photos taken in Rochester, NY in and around the East Avenue/Park Avenue area, and along the Seneca Parkway neighborhood.

Photos © 2015 Rick Burnett Baker
All Rights Reserved

Trains Passing In The Night

bridging lives


there was a voice 
pouring from your 
lips, a reflection in 
your eyes.  in me, also,

there are dreams dreamed
and tucked into corners 
of skin on my bones, 
vision in my years. 

what is hidden in the 
ages behind your mind,
within your heart, under
shadows of trestle lives - 

your journeys by rail, or raft; 
by foot or desire?  I pause 
softly, praying the wind
whispers on distant tracks. 




Photo/Poem © 2015 Rick Burnett Baker
All Rights Reserved

Barnstorming Western New York

Finally, a break in the bitter winter weather today!  With temps above freezing, and sunlight abundant, it was time for a Monday drive.

Today was a spontaneous trip west of Rochester, NY.  I drove through Williamson, Marion, Palmyra, and points in between.  Winter is a good time of year, I've discovered, to really see barns.  Before spring and summer foliage cloaks them in mystery, their bones are exposed just like the trees' bones are.

Here are a few barns from today's brief trip.

Click on images to enlarge:

Photos © 2015 Rick Burnett Baker 

Seasonal Mood Swing

Meet me on the swing 

in the spring! 

Photo © 2015 Rick Burnett Baker 

Before We Wake

season 



there is
always 
another 
year; 

there is 
always 
another 
season; 

there is 
tomorrow 
before 
we wake.



Photo/Poem © 2015 Rick Burnett Baker