For the Love of Dirt: January 2022

Sunday, January 30, 2022

PETRA'S ASHES

"I hope I live to be a hundred and one, so I may never live without you..." -Winnie the Pooh

PETRA’s ASHES

There were no voices. There was no one this late on a winter’s afternoon down by the ocean. Just mist, rock and sand. Gulls sitting into the wind on the bluffs.This was hallowed ground.

Or so he believed. They used to come here. Watch the surf beat the sands.

Run, he heard his old voice say to no one .

They had been here. Many times. He clutched a small cardboard box in his arms.. He felt the years fall away in the greying air.

A thousand years had passed and he had seen this day. And mourned then. But no one was here to see us now.

Dust to dust, golden kings, shatter into stone. It was the song of the ages. Of time and years marching by.He clutched the box tighter.

Ancient ones are lost and gone. The stars we saw will live again.

Dark the skies they weep lament for you.

Maybe even for me, the old man mused.

There were no faces here. No footsteps to echoe. Light of the sand, in burning winter skies. He closed his eyes. Salt spray flecked onto his face.

I feel you here. Your eyes in the night. You see my heart. You always saw my heart. The sun was fading before him.

He opened his cardboard box…..

Run, he heard himself say. Faces fade, time moves on, glass shatters sand.

She grew slower and older. And he grew older and a bit slower.

Dark the skies they weep lament for you.

In ash forever sleep.

He looked for the perfect spot. For her favourite spot. Just above the shoreline, where the waves gently touched the rocky sand.

He opened the box and let the ashes disappear into the waves.

All that was left was the sound of water burbling over stones.

Run, he said to no one in particular.

And in the dusk he thought he saw her, running and leaping over the sand like she used to. She turned to him. She hesitated in the mist. In the sand. On the shoreline.

Run, he said again…..as she vanished into the waves.

Photographs 2022

Tuesday, January 25, 2022

THE MOUNTAINS.....

"We are now in the mountains....." - John Muir

"Chasing angels..." -Jeffrey Rasley

"Because it's there..." -George Mallory

"The secret of the mountain..." -Peter Matthiessen

"The mountains help me sort out life...." -Mark Obmascik

"The world is a wide place where we stumble and fall..." -Jay Woodman

"Mountains are cathedrals......" -Anatoli Boukreev

"Mountains vanish into fog..." -Sanober Khan

"May your dreams be larger than mountains...." -Harley King

"I have found a dream of beauty..." -Isabella Bird

"I ascended the mountains to hear the voice of God..." -Meeta Ahluwalia

"The mountain has left me feeling renewed..." -Richard Nelson

"The world seems to have been left behind......" -Mehmet Muran Idan

"Calling out my name. I call yours. The echoes..." -John O'Donohue

Photographs 2022

Wednesday, January 19, 2022

FIVE STONES....

FIVE STONES

The boy scuffed ancient ground with his feet. He had to find five stones. Five perfect stones. He had promised.

The boy could see warriors on the other side of the valley. Smoke rose from fires. Men in armor jostled each other, yelling insults across the ravine. He felt his arms grow weak. He felt fear. Who was he to do this? What would become of him?

His father had sent him. He had no business being here. He saw a round stone. He fingered it . Cleaned it of dirt, and so much dust. Dropped it in his pouch.

Dust to dust, I am, he thought. I’d better hurry. I need four more stones. I promised.

And then he saw the Colossus on the other side. He was huge. He stood on the edge of the valley and gestured to the boy. His comrades laughed and paraded behind him. The Big Man threw a rock into the air. It landed not far from the boy.

Four stones. The boy scurried down the embankment and gathered the rock to his chest. He dropped it into his pouch. I promised.

Three stones. His heart trembled. Trembled for those days he would sing to his flocks. When home was safe. And now the boy had offered his life.

His eyes were weak with the gleam from their shields. It blinded him. One of his brothers came up from behind, placed a smooth stone into his hands. He said something reassuring and retreated. Like the others.

Five stones he would need this day. He had waited 40 days. Like the rest. Everyone was afraid of the Gigantic Man. Each side waited for the other to attack.

The boy needed just two more stones. He needed a miracle. He took his time. But time was something he could no longer afford.

Five for Kingdom come, the boy said to himself. They will sing for me. I know they will sing….

The Big Man came a little closer. He tossed another rock and it landed near the feet of the boy. It was perfect. The boy plopped it into his pouch.

One more stone. The boy swung back to the hill. His king stood there, waiting for him. Watching. The king , himself, picked up a stone, and placed the last stone in the hands of the boy. I promised, thought the boy. Why did I promise?

Five, said the king. Your time has come. Then he went back to his tent. He was afraid. Like all of them. The others all backed away.

But not the boy.

Five I need this day, he said to the wind. The Colossus moved even closer . He shouted and brandished his weapons. The boy held one of the stones, smooth, polished by the dust of time, and fitted it into his sling.

Then like the phoenix rising out of the ashes, the stone sang , swinging faster and further than a song could travel. And then the boy let it fly. It flew like a falcon . And the Huge Man dropped. Dropped to the earth.

There was silence.

And the boy met his epic Foe where he fell. He bent over him and whispered in his ear.“ I release you….”. Then the Man died and his soul vanished into fast approaching night.

And the boy’s fear fell away, as it if were nothing more than a dream..

The boy knew who he was to become. He had kept his promise.

He retrieved the fifth stone where it had landed. And the wind knew his name…..

And whispered it . Softly. Ever so softly.

Photographs 2022

NOTE:The Valley of Elah is 15 miles west of Bethlehem and about 20 miles east of the Mediterranean Sea. It is known to be the site of the battle between David and Goliath........