Wednesday 4 August 2010

Between The Mountains And The Sea.

Thoughts on a visit to my brother in the north-west, near our ancestral home.

We crossed the island, this island of ours, left our mountains and our sea. Crossed the island to this best-loved mountain and a sea of another, wilder kind.


In The Gamesmaster's House we dwelt for a time, retrieving those familial bonds,
the ones we sometimes lose sight of.


And we measured out our time, aware of the limit of the falling sands that all too soon would be gone and we would wend our way home once more.


I felt the wildness that stirs under the edge of this land, it burrowed under my skin. The deep echo under the mountains that holds some part of me from before I was born.


The need to bring my children here, it guides my hand as I show them they are here too.



Do you know your place? You feel it like a heartbeat under your hand.

Look. Press your palm there. Do you feel it?

17 comments:

Erin said...

Beautiful. Beautiful as always. You certainly have a way with words... and photographs. I think my place is my parents' home. I've never known a place so well in all my life. Every time I go back it's the same, even when things change, it feels and smells the same. I know every bump in the fields. I know every fall in the creek. I know every pop and crack the old house makes. It's home. It always will be. Thanks for the wonderful memory. :)

Róisín said...

Is that Ben Bulben? Ah, you're in Yeats' Country! How wonderful. I used to drive through there twice a week when I was at uni in Galway and every time the mountain looked different depending on the weather. Truly a special place.

It looks like you're having a wonderful time. Your children are very lucky to have parents that take them on real holidays rather than just going on a package trip to Spain or somewhere. I'm eternally grateful to my own for bringing us on holidays like this one when I was young. The stuff that memories are made of :)

Scissorhands said...

My place? I know that this doesn't sound at all poetic or romantic but my place is old penthouse that my best friend and I use to spend our time together. Talking endlessly, laughing hysterically and feeling like we were one. I'll probably never talk with him like that again because those days are lost, but at least there is the place that it happened. Sorry if this sounds sappy! I apologize! xx

Sara said...

So lovely. My place is in Fort Worth, Texas at my grandma's home. Her backyard... the wooded area just behind the fence, where hours would be spent playing, chatting, pretending and making memories. It is where many of my thoughts still linger... where my dreams take place. I can feel it.

Thank you for this beautiful post.

xx

Ellen said...

What a lovely spot of heaven your photos shared...I want to see such a special spot as that....

Anne said...

Beautiful photos....:)

Martin said...

I know exactly what you mean, Ciara. In spite of my love for Cornwall and its spiritual connection, here in the rural heart of Hampshire - the county of my birth - is where my feet feel solidly planted. I can't think of any other way to describe it but ancestral.

Emma said...

Gorgeous, Ciara. Such big skies. Sligo/Roscommon is definitely special. But the east coast too. I am even feeling nostalgic about Alabama now too. Five years in a place will do that to you, I suppose.

Jo said...

OH! Ha! I jsut did something weird. I clicked on here, but when I saw the white I thought I was somewhere else - a New Zealander's blog. She's usually feisty and funny and I was thinking, god, Kate is very poetic and artistic all of a sudden! How nice but strange. And then I got to the end of the post and the penny dropped and now I feel silly :)

Lovely post though :)

Andrew Judge said...

Lovely post, and photos. You're always welcome here.

Paddy said...

Evocative, as ever.

Drawn to The Sea said...

wow... just... wow
beautiful in every way

Vicki Boster said...

Ciara-
I am new to your blog - just found it somehow ~~~

Your photos and prose are mesmerizing. Being here is like escaping to a tranquil and beautiful place. Thank you for sharing what you love~

Vicki

Ciara Brehony said...

Thank you all for your sweet words, and especially for sharing your special place with us. C x

MonikaR said...

Aaaahhh You were in my place, my home:) Sligo:0
Love Your words:)
XOXO

Fiona said...

Please come back and visit us soon. It was really lovely to share all our gorgeous spots with you and the kids. Your photos are spectacular.

Elizabeth said...

What remarkable photos -- thank you for posting this haunting images --