Thursday, March 18, 2010

stones singing




a poet hears stones
singing water music while
stones hear his heart sing

37 comments:

Dan Gurney said...

Gosh. Thank you steven!! What a gift to see three such lovely photographs illustrate a haiku that you inspired.

Delwyn said...

Hi Steven

what a lovely combination, a blending of imagery and feelings - your pics with Dan's words... and a joining of kindred spirits -

just simply lovely


Happy days

* said...

I love this. Utterly.

Richard Jesse Watson said...

What a beautiful image, Steven. Stones must be patient. Hard, but not as hard as water over time, and the rubbing shoulders with other brother and sister stones.

Jenny Stevning said...

Oh, the colors in the wet stones! Rich! Lovely!

steven said...

dan! what a gift to be able to share my friend's haiku with three of my photographs to accompany it! steven

steven said...

delwyn - thankyou! it's one of thos lovely serendipitous confluences that blogging has brought about! have a lovely evening. steven

steven said...

hello terresa! i am so glad! imagine my fortune to have talented writer friends like dan!!! steven

steven said...

richard the rocks from this particular area of the lake ontario shore are worn almost smooth - my daughter collects the white ones as they are rare and beautiful. steven

steven said...

jenny i love how the colours call out. the water is usually pale green to pale blue but the rocks just sing. steven

Jeannette StG said...

Beautiful beautiful, especially the last pic!

ellen abbott said...

I love the stones. Reminds me of the river rocks and cobbles.

Elisabeth said...

Your photos show the hard of the stones, the soft wash of the water and the colours of life. Thanks Steven, for a wonderful and musical haiku.

Elisabeth said...

Your photos show the hard of the stones, the soft wash of the water and the colours of life. Thanks Steven, for a wonderful and musical haiku.

Bonnie Zieman, M.Ed. said...

Steven - did you lie down on the stones to get those amazing shots? Wow - love them - all so rounded, wet and worn by their marriage with water.

Now tell me more about this poet, Dan Gurney. The name sounds quite familiar ...

Barry said...

Congratulations Dan and Steven. Some collaborations don't work, but this one was inspired.

steven said...

jeannette thankyou thankyou! steven

steven said...

ellen they caught the half-light of the day which hovered between pure light grey cloud and bruised storm cloud. steven

steven said...

elsiabeth i'm glad that you liked these photographs and that theyw orked with dan's haiku. steven

steven said...

bonnie i was on my knees and elbows!!! worth it to me of course. dan - well . . . . ask him about him!!! steven

steven said...

thankyou barry. dan sent the haiku sometime ago and i asked him if it would be alright with him - when the occasion arose - to use the haiku. the occasion arose by the shores of lake ontario just near cobourg. i'm really grateful that you enjoyed this sharing. steven

Linda Sue said...

Hi Steven- The title of your post- I thought that you had gone to atlas obscura and were going to post about the singing stones of Montana...BUT I was more than pleasantly surprised to find these photos of friendly water worn stones on the shore with a lovely haiku!
Gormanghast- I had forgotten that I once began reading the trilogy, something came up- I never completed them- thanks for the reminder- I think that might be good read for when the sun comes out...

steven said...

linda sue - gormenghast is usually my autumn reading choice if i don't read the hobbit. i last read it about ten or so years ago. the first book is my favourite. dig it out and see!! steven

Anonymous said...

I always think of Matthew Arnold's Dover beach when I see stones on the shore.....something or other "melancholy roar"

but these are such lovely stones......

I never did read Gormanghast
is it wonderful?

steven said...

hello elizabeth - gormenghast would go with me to the desert island of my imagining. i looked up the matthew arnold piece and here goes:
"Listen! you hear the grating roar
Of pebbles which the waves draw back, and fling,
At their return, up the high strand,
Begin, and cease, and then again begin,
With tremulous cadence slow, and bring
The eternal note of sadness in."
poor mr. arnold! life should be easier. steven

Reya Mellicker said...

Love the cross pollination here, your images and Dan's words. I love collaborative art. Thank you for this!

steven said...

hi reya - dan sees things that he can place squarely in a moment in words. i see things that i can place squarely in an image. it's nice to meet in the middle. eastern woodlands meets california! thanks for yourself. steven

Sandy said...

The colors! I can hear the sea.

R. Burnett Baker said...

Beautiful combination! Steven, I'm on the southern shore of Lake Ontario (Rochester) and I have a favorite spot about 30 minutes from here along the Lake Ontario Parkway (heading West) and we have those same stones.

I often go there and always bring home a couple oddly shaped ones. They're wonderful stones! I wrote about them on my blog: Nov 18th "shoe without", and another poem, July 27th, "lake shore".

I'll look for the white ones!!

Rick

Golden West said...

I love the sounds of cobbles being knocked and tumbled by ocean waves, and each wet one more beautiful than the next!

So glad your wife could be here for a visit while we're having such grand weather! PS is approximately 65 miles from here as the bird flies, but more like 2.5 hours as the car drives. There should be some great wildflowers on the desert after the rains we've had!

steven said...

hello golden west - i love that sound also. i am hoping that she takes lots of photos of the mountains, the desert, the flowers and whatever else but she isn't me and she will be doing what she does. me? well i'd be off in all those places stumbling around getting a year's worth of photographs and a wicked sunburn!!! have a lovely californian day. steven

steven said...

sandy yes!!! it was a chilly wet day and well worth it!!! steven

steven said...

rick how cool! so you're more or less right across the lake from these photographs! i will be cycling past there this summer on a 'round lake ontario ride to raise money to ship bikes to malawi. one thousand kilometres in ten days! i am told that your side of the lake is beautiful and quiet. i sure am looking forward to seeing it. steven

R. Burnett Baker said...

It is quiet. Especially during the summer I spend most days off in Toronto and I drive the Parkway to NY Route 18 into Lewiston/Queenston. Lots of farms that way, and honestly I'm not sure if you can venture off 18 closer to the lake. But you're effort is mapping it well, I'm sure.

That sounds exciting! I live one mile from the lake. You and your team will probably pass through my neck of the woods....would enjoy meeting you for a coffee or tea! (of energy drink!)

steven said...

hello rick - thanks for this! this is the teams fifth lap of the lake but my first. i want to do it before i'm much older (fifty three this august) as my recovery time on major endeavours is getting longer!!!! i'll be posting more about this as i get more info so perhaps we'll be able to cross paths!! thanks for the kind offer. steven

Lisa Ursu said...

Perfect title.
What a beautiful post.

steven said...

thanks liza! the gift of dan's haiku was what inspired me to take the photographs to go with it. steven