Étincelles du soleil
sautant dessus d'un étang.
Dance d'éclat.
sun sparkles
skip-ping 'cross a pond -
flash dance.
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This was an old photo from April, 2010, taken in the woods behind the Moulin Seigneurial in Pointe-du-Lac, QC. It inspired me to try to describe the actual scene with as few words as possible, and then see if I could render it into French.
It'd been nearing sundown,we had just come from watching windsurfers on Lac St. Pierre. The grounds of this ancient flour mill are a favorite walking spot: starting with the stone steps cascading up past the water chute to the mirror-like pond surrounded by tall, silent trees leading to hidden pathways, little brooks and silent, leafy enclaves. It was getting chilly and I remember wondering what it'd be like to be there in winter, except no one does that (not impossible, just highly impractical) but this was mid-spring and we were just leaving when the dance of light began on the water (which if you moved to a different position you'd miss entirely). My mate hurrying me along, "Time to go, Time to go", but the dancing light kept beckoning. The flatness of a photo image sans animation, the 'What-the-heck-is-that-white-stuff-on-the-water? almost guess (debris? popcorn? leftover, chopped-up ice floettes?) None of the above. Sun flashes hitting pond water, pure and simple.
Sometimes a pond is just a pond but sometimes, when you're not even paying attention, you get to see such a mini-light show, sun sparkles skipping, dancing, bouncing off the waterwaves to some invisible music only the universe hears and you foolishly try to capture it, on film, in words. But it's never quite the same, is it.
