The Spring and the Storm

Pierre Auguste Cot (February 17, 1837 – July 1883) was a French painter of the Academic Classicism school. He created several works of lasting popularity, including Le Printemps, featuring two young lovers sitting upon a swing, and The Storm. Both these paintings are on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. (Wikipedia)

Le Printemps (1873)
by Pierre-Auguste Cot

La Tempête (1880)
by Pierre-Auguste Cot

The soul speaking with nature

Sunflower - Photo from internet

Little dandelions, what are you doing here?
–We reflect on earth the stars in the heavens.

Little pool, why is your water so muddy?
–Because of my narrow mind and depthless heart.

Coal, what makes you so black?
–I am the evil of the ages accumulated in the heart of the earth.
What is your penalty?
–I must pass through a trial by fire.
What becomes of you in the end?
–I turn into a diamond.

Earth, to the clouds:–Why did you come back after once you had deserted me?
–The heavens would not have us before we had reconciled ourselves with you.

Little rosebud, what do you hold between your hands? –The secret of my beauty.

Sunflower, what are you?
–I am the eye of the seeker who searches for the light.

Tana: The soul speaking with nature
Hazrat Inayath Khan (1882-1927)