These photos from the London department store Selfridges "shipwreck" series remind me of one of my favourite films, Wings of Desire. The Wim Wenders film features Bruno Ganz, the late Solveig Dommartin and Peter Falk. In 1987-88, the film won numerous prizes in festivals in France, Germany and Europe, including Best Director at Cannes. The film's premise involves angels surveying the war-scarred city of Berlin. The angels listen to tortured thoughts of mortals going about their daily lives and try to comfort them. One angel desires nothing more than to become mortal, after falling in love with Marian, a beautiful trapeze artist.
My poem in homage to Wings of Desire:
The heart knows nothing
until that fateful encounter:
a seemingly chance meeting
at the right place and time
and something inside stirs.
From that first moment
the stars and planets align.
Anxiety gives way to certainty,
saying yes to all the questions
too long unasked and unanswered.
No matter that the distance
of time and space is long
and the journey ahead
fraught with challenges and obstacles
that may alter the route.
The picture in your mind's eye steady;
the path to your beloved clear.
No maps needed to find the way
to the one who understands
before a single word is spoken.
A connection forged long ago
in another lifetime
so distant from this modern realm
etched into memory's core;
written indelibly across your heart.
Check back Tuesday for photos of shipwreck-themed sculptures created especially for Selfridges, London by artist Stuart Haygarth, as well as pictures from today's Marches des Puces at Vanves, Paris.
tara-
synchronicity and serendipity -how bizarre! I wrote last week on my blog too of Wim Wender's film, Wings of Desire, a favorite of mine for many reasons,and yet I had not thought of it until recently! connections! also loved the chat with the cab driver joy betheanne
oh and love,love the photos!!
http://dancingdocdesign.blogspot.com/
Posted by: betheanne | 29 April 2008 at 00:32
Oh, Tara, this is a wonderful post. Wings of Desire is one of my favorite films as well. It transports me to a better place - every time I watch it.
Posted by: dianamuse | 28 April 2008 at 17:23
Beautiful, romantic poem, Tara - and the 'winged' windows accompany it so well. Lovely!
~xox
Posted by: tinker | 28 April 2008 at 05:22
Sorry, me again ;D
Just wanted to say that the man who designed these windows is a gifted and intuitive person who must know love love love. (Either that, or, he knows what he needs, LOVE)
xo
Great windows!
Posted by: Gillian | 28 April 2008 at 00:41
First, your homage to the movie in poetry, phenomenal. I loved it. It speaks to me on so many levels that I firmly believe in.
"A connection forged long ago
in another lifetime
so distant from this modern realm
etched into memory's core;
written indelibly across your heart."
...and that you just know that no matter what happens, nothing can stop a meeting of soulmates, not time nor space. This reminded me (in feeling) of a poem Maddie posted eons ago...I just went to search for it, and found it!
Here it is; (I had printed it off at the time, and had it on my fridge forever!)
"There is someone special for everyone that they have loved in
another life. They come from different generations.
They travel across oceans of time and the depths of heavenly
dimensions to be with you again. They come from the other side,
from heaven. They look different, but your heart knows them.
Your heart has held them in your arms in the moon-filled deserts
of Egypt and the ancient plains of Mongolia.
You have ridden together in the armies of forgotten
warrior-generals and you have lived together in the sand-covered
caves of the Ancient Ones. You are bonded together throughout
eternity and you will never be alone.
"Your head may interfere: "I do not know you."
Your heart knows.
He looks into your eyes for the first time and you see a soul
companion across centuries. Your stomach turns upside down.
Your arms tingle. Everything outside this moment loses its
importance. "Soul recognition may be immediate. A sudden
feeling of familiarity, of knowing this new person at depths
far beyond what the conscious mind could know.
"Soul recognition may be subtle and slow. A dawning of
awareness as the veil is gently lifted. Not everyone is ready to
see right away.
There is a timing at work and patience may be necessary
for the one who sees first.."
Sorry for such a long comment, but you struck a chord with me today about living authentically, and living life for the one who's living it...me. Or, alternatively, YOU.
xoxo
Gillian
Posted by: Gillian | 28 April 2008 at 00:40
Love these photos!
You're the best for doing this for us.
xox
C
Posted by: rochambeau | 27 April 2008 at 22:59