and a strange peace gathered about my soul and shone,
as i sat reflecting there,
in a world so mystically fair,
so deathly silent--i so utterly alone.
archibald lampman excerpted from "winter solitude"
looking west
towards
the end
of winter
lonely yet magnetic - great shot steven.
ReplyDeleteRather haunting to me...but so beautiful, too.
ReplyDeleteWinter yes, but one of the first hints of spring: you have taken the falling snow flakes effect off the blog. Can sping be far behind?
ReplyDeleteHope the out-of-sight train is headed toward springtime! Your new heading is lovely - I'd love a spot on that bench.
ReplyDeletehi bonnie and thankyou. steven
ReplyDeletehey jenny - train tracks have that effect on me also. on this day the tracks hovered in that space between here and there. i especially liked that there was a light snow falling creating something of a blue mist. have a peaceful day. steven
ReplyDeletehey lorenzo! the snow flakes are gone as yes the winter is receding! the temperatures during the day are above zero for the whole week! have a peaceful day observant one! steven
ReplyDeletepauline - there's a bench somewhere near you just waiting to share some stories and time with you. have a lovely day. steven
ReplyDeleteNow that spring has come here I find I can tolerate all those winter pictures.
ReplyDeleteYour photo brought to mind "and miles to go before I sleep". Beautiful.
ReplyDeleteThe blue tint makes it seem very mysterious, Steven, leading off into the unknown.
ReplyDeleteAs usual, wonderful ekphrastic union of word and image, Steven. Those tracks, well, they send a shiver down my spine. They also remind me of one of my favorite poems by one of my all-time favorite poets... you can read it here. There is still an abandoned station bench there - we know: we sat on it one frosty day...
ReplyDeleteBeautiful post Steven.
ReplyDelete"i so utterly alone"
alone, but never lonely.
There is something about empty train tracks to evokes a sense of aloneness (is that a word?) more than just an unpeopled (is that a word too?) pathway.
ReplyDeleteThere's something sad about train tracks - those parallel lines never do get to meet up - but I love rail lines - I grew up beside them and I'm writing about them - very lovely imagery.
ReplyDeletehello ellen - thankyou and mother nature for your tolerance! steven
ReplyDeletewillow- it's fascinating the associations that railway tracks and roads and fences and gates have for people. steven
ReplyDeletegolden west - i have looked down those tracks many times but it was that quality you describe that made me stop and take this photograph and share it here. steven
ReplyDeletecaroline thankyou for the generous comment and especially for the link to the poetry and your posting. steven
ReplyDeleteliza - so true - steven
ReplyDeletebarry that traintrack leads down to toronto via scarborough believe it or not. twenty years ago it was possible to take a dayliner from peterborough to toronto through the most beautiful countryside and then through the don valley. i have so many magical small memories of those journeys!!! steven
ReplyDeleteHi Steven
ReplyDeletethat is an interesting juxtaposition of poetry and photo Steven...
I have never found solitude lonely have you?
and while the railway lines do evoke a wistful wondering I do see them as full of promise...and a future....
Happy days
Solitude and quiet hit me like a truck this morning, by the creek, and then i came home to read your post,****deep sigh***** yes.Solitude and quiet probably come to you smelling of lavendar, settling on your shoulders like down, but for me- it's a truck!
ReplyDeletehi delwyn - thanks! i have never found solitude lonely - no. it's a sacred and necessary space. the railway lines - they have a loneliness about them but all i can think of is the walk alone along them, the stories and scenes i would see, and the place i would stop, because i would need to stop somewhere. what would life be like then?! steven
ReplyDelete