SUMMER NIGHT... (My new poem inspired by a Harald Sohlberg painting, 1899...)

 Summer Night…

(Inspired by Harald Sohlberg’s 1899 painting…)

Summer light fades, reflected in windows and the rare sky

Forms a kaleidoscope array of pallid colours, angled into the imminent sundown,

Dyeing the fjord a stern shade of green, as it tarries, potent and silent.

Decorative rows of red and white flowers caress the balcony and its privacy 

In a show of affection and protection, intimating at an evening of romance…  

Carafes and half-empty glasses stand forlorn, two plates abandoned lie.

Gloves hang poignantly over an edge of the table and the glossy stools of brown

Have been discarded, as if vacated in the emotion of a celebratory moment…

A lady’s straw hat has been placed amongst the blooms, suggesting intimacy

To the occasion, a seclusion, a liaison between lovers, perchance…

Pete Ray…

20th February 2026…    

It appears that this painting was likely a celebration of the painter’s own engagement…

The atmosphere and colours created in the scene are really becoming, to my mind… 

The thoughts of an independent source, The Sand Martin...

'This delightful scene appears to show a wooden mountain lodge overlooking a forested area and the lake below. 

Beyond the lower hills and surrounding the lake to form a frame around it are gentle uplands or low mountains.

The balcony looks enticing, the balustrade decorated with bright orange and also white flowers. 

We see a table and two empty stools with half finished drinks and carafes still in evidence. 

This scene invites the onlooker to the table and at the same time to wonder why it has been left. Did an urgent call demand immediate attention elsewhere? Was someone overtaken by sudden illness? Did a dispute bring the encounter to an end? There are any number of other plausible reasons to cause the table to be abandoned suddenly… 

The positioning of the stools might indicate that they were suddenly pushed from the table. 

The use of very bold and striking colours suggests that a drama of some sort has taken place. 

The orange flowers are in direct contrast to the unusually bright navy colour of the uplands that frame the lake. This in turn is painted a vivid turquoise colour. 

The white flowers dominate the balustrade and bring the eye immediately towards the balcony despite the stunning scenery so boldly and attractively painted. 

Diagonally across from the balcony the white of the evening sky and the last of the daylight demand attention. As the light fades into evening shades of blue, it amplifies the drama surrounding the balcony. 

Again the white gauze tablecloth calls attention to this cosy corner of the balcony and we are left wondering and puzzling about the events that have occurred in this idyllic spot. 

A beautiful puzzle for one to consider…'