Sugar Loaf

-
Dear Monty,

After a frosty start looking at the coal tip garden, I went to meet up with friend, social worker, photographer, blogger and associate garden maker to veddw.com charleshawes.veddw.com to walk the Sugar Loaf mountain above Abergavenny.






Being principally spiritual, arty, romantic ? I look at the world from that perspective - this may be perceived by others as deluded - hence the title of this blog. I have wondered for some time who has the right to title themselves as an artist - or in Charles's case photographer - is it success in financial terms rather than whether the work inspires or communicates beyond words ? The inventors of art nouveau said that art is for everybody - there is no high or low art - that dream did not last like most dreams. Charles and I always have good conversations when we walk which I value very much, they make me re - examine myself  and my beliefs and help me to refine what makes me tick, so as a thank you to Charles I have written some words to reflect what was going on in my strange head after our bright exertion.



Sugar Loaf




Dreaming I still dream of a life lived that dips into the crystal stream of clear consciousness
The stream that flows from God's blue skied hard topped peak
Where the world spreads out beneath




He utters words I dare not speak

Names are carved in stone - but this time no verse
Forgiveness is difficult
For creatures cursed with knowledge




When will these rocks melt and the sun turn to cold blood - no more to burn ?
What will the marks we made upon this earth mean then ?




The river will cease to cut its path
Seas will dry up
Fools will perish where there is no love




Wake up to this sharp beauty
This spear of crystal cold
The air of life
Caressed in love
Held
Remembered
Never forgotten



Paul.


Comments

  1. Anne Wareham14 December 2014 at 16:46

    I love 'bright exertion' - though I know it was in your prose. Beware of letting that dogmatic self confident bloke confront you. Fight back! Xxxxx

    ReplyDelete
  2. JohnK14 December 2014 at 17:59

    When you think how much effort must have gone into carving those names into the stones, you can't help hoping that the couple are still a couple. The previous photo of the stones is intriguing - how many animal faces can you see? And I hope that whatever Charles is carrying in the final photo was not the route map. You should know by now, never let Charles get the map!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Charles Hawes31 December 2014 at 17:36

    Here's me on another device trying to get through to you!
    Loved the post and the pics. Am writing up my version of our walk this week!
    Just for the record, we didn't get lost once! Though you nearly lost your temper.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Paul Steer4 January 2015 at 21:14

      Not nearly - I did ! Hate seeing the churning up of 'protected' land by trial bikes and off roading.

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Pity the cabbage white

-
Image
Dear Monty, Having seen you protect your newly planted cabbages from cabbage white butterflies - it made me realise that I haven't seen many this year. Despite warmth yesterday - a brief interlude with blue sky and a light wind there was a dearth of butterflies in the coal tip garden. There were honey bees, bumble bees, wasps, hover flies, a gangly legged wasp, one hedge brown, one speckled wood and a common blue - that is all. Oh and a frog sheltering in the shady hosta and a silent peregrine falcon swooping overhead. What has happened to all the insects ? What has happened to all the aphids this year ? Is it just me that is missing them ? I have seen no ladybirds or ladybird larvae - because there have been so few aphids - was it the birds that have snaffled them ? I worry about the lack of insect numbers. We walked through a wild meadow full of meadow cranesbill and meadowsweet with the purple haze of knapweed in the grasses and yet there were one or two meadow br...
Read more

Letter to Monty Don 48

-
Image
Dear Monty, I know that despite these rambles being addressed to you, they never reach your eyes or heart, but this question is most certainly directed to you : Can nature be ugly ? I am pondering this question sitting in my cupboard of a 'studio' where I am putting the finishing touches to paintings of  British native orchids, pollinators and butterflies for an exhibition next weekend. Now I believe that you understand perfectly well the response you may get when you make statements on GW - including the one about spent buddleja flowers being 'ugly'. I too have always deadheaded my buddleja for the same reason, and as you said to promote new flower spikes. But this ugliness is an intrinsic part of nature - it sets seed to create the next generation, the flowers last but for a few days. Is this ugliness a kind of acknowledgement of the frailty of 'beauty' .... and the cutting off and tidying away a kind of denial ? ( Perhaps I think too much.) I ...
Read more

Monty, where does the road take us ?

-
Image
Monty, I see you have returned to France. Your film reminded me of my visits to Paris as an art student between 1981-83. It is a city that cannot fail to make an impression with its wide open streets, avenues of trees, the river and public gardens. I particularly remember Versailles with its long canal. At that time I was not aware of having a particular interest in gardens, but the gardens at Versailles were astonishing. I saw them in early morning light, when there were not that many people there. I also remember being intrigued by the garden at the Musee Rodin. Strangely for an art student, it was not the sculpture that caught my attention but the garden with pyramid shaped topiary. Perhaps what I was responding to was the sense of order, balance and harmony. It almost feels as though I was meant to visit, and that the encounters I had which were sensually intense, were pre-ordained. There is one incident, which has great significance only to me perhaps, but which was of ...
Read more