Fruitful – A Hyangga* #ThursdayDoors

Posted bySuzette BenjaminPosted inPoetryTags:, ,
**FEATURED DOOR. Curved Facade of Basilica, St Dominic in Valletta, Malta. Image credit: RomanBabakin | istockphoto

Resilience refreshed

fibers, pulsing with vim and vigor

opens doors to more fruitful years,

kindness its coat of shellac

***

**The Featured Door is set in the concave facade of Basilica St. Dominic in Valletta, Malta (1815). Over the centuries the wooden door suffered the effects of Malta’s coastal climate, and by 2015 required repairs. Thanks in large part to generous public donations, the door was restored in 2017.

A closeup of the facade’s upper structures, Basilica St Dominic, Valletta, Malta is shown below.

Facade above the door, Basilica of St. Dominic in Valletta, Malta. Image credit: chrisdorney | istockphoto

Trivia#1:  In 2004, Basilica St. Dominic, Malta’s costly set of antique 18th-century wooden altar candle pedestals went missing.

Two years later, church employees recognized the missing antique wooden candle pedestals offered for sale at a local Malta online used-items website.

According to the local newspaper report, when questioned by authorities, the individual offering the missing items for sale stated that he had ‘found’ the antique wooden candle pedestals and had taken them home to “restore” them.

The antique wooden candle pedestals were returned to the church following the individual’s arraignment in 2006.

Eight years later in 2014, the individual was cleared of all charges. The judge cited the facts that: much time had passed since the initial incident, and the individual at the time of the alleged incident was a teenager.

Trivia #2: Basilica St. Dominic‘s rooftop was the filming location for the fantasy movie Assassins Creed’s parkour stunt sequences. The movie was also filmed in part at Malta’s famous movie sets at Fort Risacoli.

*Fun Fact: Malta’s Fort Risacoli is the filming location for many movies and TV series, including the upcoming movie Gladiator 2 (November 2024), Gladiator (2000), and the filming location for the “Red Keep” in Game of Thrones.

***This week’s #ThursdayDoors poem is written as a Korean Hyangga* in response to Val’s (Murisopsis) Around The World Scavenger Hunt for National Poetry Month – Hyangga is the oldest form of Korean poetry. This form uses a 7/9/9/7 syllable count in a single quatrain. Repetition and alliteration are used. They have religious, philosophical, and/or major life event themes.

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Published by Suzette Benjamin

Positive thinker, inspirational, writer, faith

48 thoughts on “Fruitful – A Hyangga* #ThursdayDoors”

  1. Pingback: Fruitful – A Hyangga* #ThursdayDoors | Ned Hamson's Second Line View of the News

    1. Hi, Joanna,
      I am delighted that you enjoyed the offerings for this Thursday’s doors and the poem.
      May showers of blessings encompass the width and breadth of the joys of/in your day. Cheers

      Like

  3. Very well done, Suzette. I love how you’re able to meet the requirements of the poetry challenge and introduce us to a door. I am also glad that people took the time to make the effort to restore a 200 year-old door. It is a magnificent door.

    I hope you have a great weekend!

    Liked by 1 person

  4. ✒️kindness its coat of shellac✒️

    I must look out for this varnish, such a precious name

    I hope it comes in coats of many colours

    The door is a magnificent charitable green, complimenting the hearts of the folk who donated to its repairs and upkeep

    The outcome of the trial was kind and lenient too. I felt a sense of release and relief upon reading through.

    Beautiful place and door offering and the devotion expressed through the Hyangga.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Shellac is a wood sealant and usually called a primer (it is a natural resin and used in many applications beyond wood preservation)

      Few people today still it call it shellac…but you know how I do eh…LOL.

      I am delighted that you enjoyed the meditation and offering these doors presented in their history and the generosity afforded to their upkeep!

      Thank you.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Oh it is a sealant, I was thinking the avocado green door is the actual paint called kindness. Thank you for bringing clarity.
        The entire Hyangga is wrapped up in kindness, a beautiful Thursday offering.

        Yes also the fact that the door is in the capital of Malta makes today’s doors even more special.

        Scented with kindness and generosity, loved the meditation and study.

        Liked by 1 person

      2. So amazing your insight. There actually is a shade of green paint called “Kind Green” it is closer to the inside green of an avocado… rather than the brightness of green of this door.
        Scented kindness…wow…a beautiful meditation…thank you!

        Liked by 1 person

      3. Oh I’ve not heard or seen that colour before. I simply called it charitable green referring to the skin of the avocado pear due to the kindness and generosity of the people in the town.

        You are most welcome Poet.

        Liked by 1 person

    1. Thank you Val…an ekphrastic…how awesome I did not realize the poem was drifted nicely in that direction too. Amazing how sometimes these double witness poems write themselves…LOL. Cheers.

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    1. You are so blessed Keith in having travelled to many beautiful and historic places. So amazing. Yes, curved facade have a warmth to them from their form alone. How awesome a way to build with that in mind. Thank you Keith.

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  17. I’m intrigued by the concave entrance; it seems like a hug, protective and welcoming. I like it! A gorgeous facade, especially with that blue sky as backdrop. Kindness as shellac — very nice!

    Liked by 1 person

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