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Notes About The Poem

painting by Ferinand Hodler

Ferdinand Hodler (1853-1918) is undoubtedly one of the best known and most important Swiss artists of the early 20th century. An artist with a varied and prolific production who painted in different styles, a painter of all kinds, the mountain is never far from his brush. (Source: Wikipedia.com)

poem submitted to "1481" poetry contest, Brian Strand, sponsor 6/14/2026

ALONG THE HORIZON

Along the horizon, the Swiss Alps rise with a deep calm,
their slopes holding a pale, steady radiance~
not the brilliance of noon,
but the quiet glow of a soul at rest.

The lake below mirrors everything
with a devotion almost holy,
its surface smooth as a held breath,
a silver-blue plane where sky and water
forget their differences.

Trees stand in contemplative ranks,
dark brushstrokes of patience,
as though they’ve spent centuries
listening to the mountain’s slow wisdom
and have learned the art of stillness.

Nothing moves;
yet the whole scene feels alive~
a pulse beneath the silence,
a soft, inward turning of the world
toward its own serene center.

And as the eye lingers,
something in the heart settles too,
as if Hodler painted not a place
but a moment of inner clarity~

beautymeaningfulmountainsekphrasis

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