A Stressful Week

Hello dear Reader, today I'm doing things 'diary entry' style -

I can't seem to catch a break - after recovering from Covid-19 I was just starting to get my enthusiasm for living a full, entertaining life back, when I fell into a groove of stress, which resulted in the protrusion of a few cold sores. 

There are many things to look forward to: After completing a German language course in the city, I've taken to the institution and am eager to do a literature course (with short stories and novellas from all different cultures) with them. It will begin in February.  

Additionally, I'm looking forward to my next trip, in May: It probably will be to Europe, with cities like Bruges (Belgium), Salzburg (Austria) and Freiburg im Breisau (Germany) vying for attention, along with some southern European gems like Sintra (Portugal) and Alberobello (Italy). Then again, I have a tendency to keep changing my mind about my travel destinations until there's a few months to go. 

Looking Up (Poem)

You tried to manipulate me

Once more, for old times’ sake

You didn’t pause

To read the room

Nothing for it but to walk away

My community of selves

Struggled to reach agreement

But it emerged you were the darkness

I had to do without

The consensus was we mattered more 

Than you knew how to give us credit for

Self-love is a full-time job

And now life is looking up

Laidback Vibes in Bansko

All photos taken by Epiphanie Bloom in Bansko, Bulgaria.

Bonus 'Sculptures By The Sea': Selected Works, 2024

All photos taken by Epiphanie Bloom, except the photo of Epiphanie. 

Sculptures by the Sea: Selected Works, 2024

 

All photos taken by Epiphanie Bloom.

Women of Cologne's Museum of East Asian Art

All photos taken by Epiphanie Bloom. 

These are the representations of women that caught my eye in the Museum of East Asian Art of Cologne. All three countries - Japan, China and Korea - are represented. The first and last two images are from Japan, the porcelain sculptures are from Korea, and the rest are from China (as far as I can recall). There may have been more representations of women on display than shown here, but even so, they comprised a minority of the works on display. My intention is to pay attention to the women's presence as it is, in order to expand upon it. 

The erotic art from China is a rare work, because most similar pieces would have been destroyed at some point, in some misguided aim for respectability.

Shivering in the Shade [Poem]

Perking up and wilting in cycles

Letting radio songs inform my moods

Hope may be offered but I don't find it likely

It'll deliver me from a hearty brood

A surge of can-do spirit

I'm thinking I can find a way forth

At least for a while, I wager

I won't be distinctly lost

The radio has gaps and silences

In its search for beauty it falls short

When the most beautiful tunes of the planet

Resist conventions of 'Record'

The spontaneous playful serenade

Or shivering poets wrapped in the shade

Impromptu exaltations, scattered throughout the day

Technology can't capture it all... no way

The Awe of Vienna's National Library

All photos taken by Epiphanie Bloom.