Thursday, March 22, 2007

shadows


I walked past the church I used to frequent the other day and was stopped in my tracks by this

It reminded me that success is not measured by what we bring, but rather by what we leave

since posting this I can't get this poem by Stewart Henderson out of my head;

‘And this is what we leave behind
The leaking tap, the unquiet mind
The cuckoo clock, the après ski
The black fly ravaged lilac tree
The horoscope, the eBay find
This is what we leave behind

And this is what we do not take
The funeral service and the wake
The christening shawl, the driving test
The semi that was repossessed
The x-ray and the Dundee cake
This is what we do not take

And this is what will be no more
The hospice and the hasty law
The routine morning after pill
Montrose 1 Dumbarton 0
The hamster cage, the exit door
This is what will be no more

And this is what we’ll lay to rest
The polished regimental crest
The blossom days, the stricken nights
Gocloma and the Blackpool lights
The cystic unexamined breast
This is what we’ll lay to rest

And this is what will be put away
Countdown, thrush and Santa’s sleigh
The Oscar speech, invaded lands
Vasectomies, the marching bands
The hawkish Independence Day
All this will be put away

And this is what we leave behind
The leaking tap, the unquiet mind
The gossip and the misery
The laudatory obituary
The ending of the word…declined
This is what we leave behind...'

This is Stewart and I at Greenbelt a couple of years ago. you can find his work and collaborations with his partner in crime Martyn Jospeh here

15 comments:

Anna said...

Just beautiful! Great capture Paul! I love the colors here...

The Harbour of Ourselves said...

thanks anna,
i wonder how many people walked past and never saw it - or worse saw it and didn't see it - small things like this make me believe in something beyond us all

send me an invite to your first exhibition please.....

Anna said...

I have a pic just like this one that I took about two weeks ago. I will have to post it for you. When your page loaded I immediately thought of it! :)

You will be on the invite list...no doubt!

Take care...

awareness said...

Hi Paul.

Lovely photo.....beautifully ethereal, and yet a wee bit spooky.

Imprints......left behind. I like this interpretation of shadows.

The Harbour of Ourselves said...

anna, will look forward to your post and the invite!

dana, the things that we leave behind...hmmm, now there's something to ponder today

my poet friend Stewart Henderson penned some words on the subject - i will try and hook those out today and add them

bluemountainmama said...

that's an amazing photo, harbour!

The Harbour of Ourselves said...

BMM, thanks, the more i look at it the more i agree with dana (awareness) that it's eerie - maybe that has a lot to do with what went on within those walls....

Michael K. Althouse said...

That's a great shot. It speaks to me... not in an "every picture's worth a thousand words" way, but on a much deeper level.

Thanks for your recent comment on my blog,

Mike

The Harbour of Ourselves said...

hey mike

good to hear from you - happy to comment - hope things are improving and heading in the right direction

as for this shot - yes, it does go 'beyond' - i wasn't sure if it was just the baggage i carry around from my experiences there coupled with the haunting shadows of the london Plane trees - i guess the late afternoon sun helped the image

awareness said...

good morning......i have taken little peaks at this photo several times, and have continued to have the same thoughts about it. so, in random order...... even if you don't want them.........

the creamy yellow is warm and inviting, but it is in direct contrast with the dark windows, doors and shadows of the trees. It leave me with wondering about the safety of being inside.....or the mystery of what is inside.

The shadows are somewhat invasive, or at least looming.....always lurking.......adding to the beauty, and definately adding to the mystery...

It reminds me of the tale of Sleeping Beauty. Honest to God!! I keep thinking of Sleeping Beauty lying on a bed inside waiting to be kissed.......waiting to be saved from her deep sleep. this thought has been with me since I looked at the pic for the first time.

an analogy of the state of the church? who knows........

success is what we leave behind....tells me to be more cognizant of the imprints I leave, and the shadows I myself may form.

take care...... x

The Harbour of Ourselves said...

dana
i keep looking too, am enthralled by it and also coil away...
i like the sleeping beauty analogy
...the stage door of our hearts, that's what the church should be

MJ said...

What a beautiful picture and poem. When ever i have a hankering to see something beautiful, I just click here and you always supply. It is a gift.

Anna said...

I keep coming back....I dont think its eerie...

I think its warm.

:)

awareness said...

I don't even know how to respond. I've been thinking about your friend's poem all day, wondering whether I want to leave behind my unquiet mind for others to deal with.....or does he mean that we personally reach a sense of quiet resolution......our unquiet mind is laid to rest?

It is a very thought provoking poem; more so when I read it aloud. And I can see how and why you saw the connection to the photo.

I wasn't able to use the link you had on the post, but I assumed it may have been the same one on your link list on the sidebar? Anyways, I checked out Martyn Joseph's website and watched/listened to some of his songs......WOW! I heard threads of Chris de Burgh interspersed with this man's unique music. Loved it.

AND.........the last photo you posted? Definately not spooky. :) Two beautiful friends smiling. It made me smile right back.

Nikita said...

niki rises again; apologies.

I loved the poem; the picture too was beautiful but the words... Well I'm more of a words girl (reading - not writing).

Hope you're doing ok.