Iain’s bequest:
to point us in
the right direction, yet
you really have to
look them out
before they’ll
invite you in.
A perfect posture:
not bending
over backwards
to gratify you –
rather bending
towards you,
to meet you
half-way.
Even sunlight,
brought to its knees,
only half-illumines
such a purpling
of the blues.
No impulsive gusts
can fluster
the playful attitude
of bowed heads.
It may seem that
all is easy
as gazing
off a mossy log,
but, take heed,
or all you will see
is flowers.
June 2015
Paul Taylor
In memory of the late Iain Robinson, who showed Paul this wood in Garstang.
It
splattered
poured forth
disgorged
ran out
sloped
tumbled
flowed out
scattered about.
Spillage, SPILLAGE!
It was double cream to be exact.
flipped off the kitchen counter
landed upside down
white liquid flowing
under the kitchen unit
there to go sour
and smell.
Did my best
mopped and wiped
wiped and mopped
Sheet after sheet of
newspaper, turning translucent
sheet after sheet
into the bin, into the bin.
Degrease with dish soap
AKA washing-up liquid
water – rinse, more water-rinse
dry, dryer, more dry
rubbish wrapped, new liner
in the bin. Cry? Not likely
Rubbish to the outside bin.
No use crying over spilled cream
Or spilled anything for that matter.
That was yesterday while visiting an elderly woman and when about to pour the lovely white liquid on a piece of apple pie. No, no good crying over spilled milk or spilled anything for that matter. I’d have taken a photograph but I was standing in the puddle! Bare foot.
This poem took me right back to my teens when I wrote some words reflecting on a bee I’d observed as I lazily lay on a lawn. Bee and me we are one, labouring onwards and upwards.…dah de dah dee dah! I like the care free bee of this poem which is free from ever looking inwardly!
Just what has happened in the past days? Weeks since I last posted. Daily life has a way of lifting and carrying one along with few resting places to contemplate, save for the formal meditations. Even our internet connection has been, how can I put it….insubstantial. Take your chances where you can and if ‘it’s down’ a hike up the fields to catch a signal on my mobile device is how I keep in touch. On a basic level. Up there above the monastery it is wild and often windy. A place where wild creatures spread their wings – and fly.
What good fortune last Sunday when I asked a chap visiting here if he was a photographer. Just a chance question. Turns out he was just back from a walk up to the wilder parts and caught images of this owl. In flight, and resting… Perfect.
A photographer is one who has a camera to hand, sees something and has the where-with-all to click the shutter at the critical moment(s). Yes Mark you are a photographer and thank you for sharing what you caught up there in the wilds.
One of the many activities which has had me otherwise engaged is taking photographs for the about to be re-launched Throssel website. I’ve been (in truth, about to) dig around in the photo archives to post images of Throssel as it was years ago, in black and white, to ‘galleries’. So when the site goes live you all will be the first to know about it.
Mount Shasta – 1916
Words escape me…! These images, in colour and black and white, were taken by National Geographic Society photographers in the early 20th century, curated by Retronaut and showcased by Mashable ,are something to behold. Enjoy, but don’t follow the links unless you have lots of time to spare! That’s if you enjoy photographs, as I do.
These Autochromes – the first commercially available color photographic process – were taken by National Geographic Society photographers. The Society eventually moved on to other slightly more advanced photographic processes and finally to Kodachrome by 1938, but not before amassing a collection of more than 12,000 Autochromes.
These images are truely amazing. An amazing document of the time, of photography and the people (including youthful celebs). Scroll down the page to find more archive images and articles too.
Hat tip to Michael in Canada for sending me the link and bows to Mashable, the National Geographic Society and Retronaut. These images need to be seen, and appreciated.
Practice Within The Order of Buddhist Contemplatives
