Haiku and image by Dan Hardison
Photo: Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina
Haiga appeared in Simply Haiku, Autumn 2009, vol 7 no 3.
September 18, 2009
Searching the Tideline
Haiga appeared in Simply Haiku, Autumn 2009, vol 7 no 3.
September 12, 2009
The Round
Light splashed this morning
on the shell-pink anemones
swaying on their tall stems;
down blue-spiked veronica
light flowed in rivulets
over the humps of the honeybees;
this morning I saw light kiss
the silk of the roses
in their second flowering,
my late bloomers
flushed with their brandy.
A curious gladness shook me.
So I have shut the doors of my house,
so I have trudged downstairs to my cell,
so I am sitting in semi-dark
hunched over my desk
with nothing for a view
to tempt me
but a bloated compost heap,
steamy old stinkpile,
under my window;
and I pick my notebook up
and I start to read aloud
the still-wet words I scribbled
on the blotted page:
"Light splashed . . ."
I can scarcely wait till tomorrow
when a new life begins for me,
as it does each day;
as it does each day.
on the shell-pink anemones
swaying on their tall stems;
down blue-spiked veronica
light flowed in rivulets
over the humps of the honeybees;
this morning I saw light kiss
the silk of the roses
in their second flowering,
my late bloomers
flushed with their brandy.
A curious gladness shook me.
So I have shut the doors of my house,
so I have trudged downstairs to my cell,
so I am sitting in semi-dark
hunched over my desk
with nothing for a view
to tempt me
but a bloated compost heap,
steamy old stinkpile,
under my window;
and I pick my notebook up
and I start to read aloud
the still-wet words I scribbled
on the blotted page:
"Light splashed . . ."
I can scarcely wait till tomorrow
when a new life begins for me,
as it does each day;
as it does each day.
— Stanley Kunitz
From his book "The Wild Braid: A Poet Reflects on a Century in the Garden"
Photo by Dan Hardison
New Hanover County Arboretum
Wilmington, North Carolina
Also available:
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September 5, 2009
Exhibition: "ECVA Imaging Ubuntu"
"All things come of thee, O Lord, and of thine own have we given thee."
— 1 Chronicles 29: 14
These words are used as an offertory statement and are often associated with the appeal to fund the church. However, if all things come from God and we are expected to give back to him, is money the only way we can or should give?
There seems always to be a shortage of time in our lives nowadays, but time can be of value to the well being of a church. It takes a tremendous amount of money to keep a church organization going, but it also requires the giving of time from individuals. Participating in church services and events, as well as the upkeep of the building and grounds are also important contributions.
We are called upon to give unto others who are less fortunate and there are many charities in need of volunteers, but giving to others can also be through the simple act of kindness. A kind word or deed given to those around us may not seem like much, but it can make an impression in someone else's life.
There is much that God has given and much that we can give in return. If there is but one gift to give, let it be the gift of love. As Neil Diamond says in song, "love's a gift that's made for givin'/ you give it all away and have it still."
The above image was included in the online exhibition ECVA Imaging Ubuntu for the Episcopal Church and Visual Arts (ECVA). The image was also a "First" choice by a juror. Visit www.ecva.org to view the exhibition.
— 1 Chronicles 29: 14
These words are used as an offertory statement and are often associated with the appeal to fund the church. However, if all things come from God and we are expected to give back to him, is money the only way we can or should give?
There seems always to be a shortage of time in our lives nowadays, but time can be of value to the well being of a church. It takes a tremendous amount of money to keep a church organization going, but it also requires the giving of time from individuals. Participating in church services and events, as well as the upkeep of the building and grounds are also important contributions.
We are called upon to give unto others who are less fortunate and there are many charities in need of volunteers, but giving to others can also be through the simple act of kindness. A kind word or deed given to those around us may not seem like much, but it can make an impression in someone else's life.
There is much that God has given and much that we can give in return. If there is but one gift to give, let it be the gift of love. As Neil Diamond says in song, "love's a gift that's made for givin'/ you give it all away and have it still."
— Dan Hardison
The above image was included in the online exhibition ECVA Imaging Ubuntu for the Episcopal Church and Visual Arts (ECVA). The image was also a "First" choice by a juror. Visit www.ecva.org to view the exhibition.
Image "All Things Come of Thee"
Photograph
Chapel of Transgression
Kanuga Conferences, North Carolina
By Dan Hardison
August 29, 2009
Postcard: Andrews Geyser
Old Fort, North Carolina
(Used - postmark 1914)
Travel through the mountains of Western North Carolina was particularly hard during the 1800's. Even the railroad found extending its tracks through the Blue Ridge Mountains a daunting task. During the late 1800's, an effort was made to extend the railroad to Asheville, North Carolina along an especially treacherous section of the mountains. Once completed, a man-made geyser was constructed in the town of Old Fort to mark the railroad gateway to the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Originally known as the Fountain at Round Knob, the geyser is a tribute to Colonel Alexander Boyd Andrews and the approximately 120 men who died building this stretch of railroad. Andrews was Vice President of the Southern Railway Company and one of the men responsible for the construction of the railroad through the mountains. The area was known as Round Knob and at the time of its construction, this section of railroad was regarded as the marvel of railroad engineering in the United States.
The site of the geyser was chosen to mark the railroad gateway to the Blue Ridge Mountains. The railroad wraps around the location of the geyser at a spot aptly called Horseshoe Bend. Railroad passengers could view the geyser several times as the train made its way along the 13 miles of track.
Constructed in 1885, the geyser was gravity fed from a lake created by the railroad two miles uphill from the site. The water flowed through a 6-inch underground pipe dropping 500 feet in elevation and came out of a 1/2-inch nozzle surrounded by a concrete basin. The geyser would shoot water 80-100 feet into the air.
A hotel was also built at the time of the geyser's construction, but the hotel burned in 1903 and the geyser fell into disrepair. The geyser was refurbished in 1911 and extensively restored in the 1970s. Today, the geyser still sends its stream of water into the air and is the centerpiece of a public park in the town of Old Fort.
The lake that furnishes the water for the geyser is on the current site of a Bed & Breakfast, the Inn on Mill Creek. Visitors to the Inn can enjoy its trout filled lake and visit the site of the valve and pipe where the water begins its long journey down the mountain to Andrews Geyser below.
(Used - postmark 1914)
Travel through the mountains of Western North Carolina was particularly hard during the 1800's. Even the railroad found extending its tracks through the Blue Ridge Mountains a daunting task. During the late 1800's, an effort was made to extend the railroad to Asheville, North Carolina along an especially treacherous section of the mountains. Once completed, a man-made geyser was constructed in the town of Old Fort to mark the railroad gateway to the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Originally known as the Fountain at Round Knob, the geyser is a tribute to Colonel Alexander Boyd Andrews and the approximately 120 men who died building this stretch of railroad. Andrews was Vice President of the Southern Railway Company and one of the men responsible for the construction of the railroad through the mountains. The area was known as Round Knob and at the time of its construction, this section of railroad was regarded as the marvel of railroad engineering in the United States.
The site of the geyser was chosen to mark the railroad gateway to the Blue Ridge Mountains. The railroad wraps around the location of the geyser at a spot aptly called Horseshoe Bend. Railroad passengers could view the geyser several times as the train made its way along the 13 miles of track.
Constructed in 1885, the geyser was gravity fed from a lake created by the railroad two miles uphill from the site. The water flowed through a 6-inch underground pipe dropping 500 feet in elevation and came out of a 1/2-inch nozzle surrounded by a concrete basin. The geyser would shoot water 80-100 feet into the air.
A hotel was also built at the time of the geyser's construction, but the hotel burned in 1903 and the geyser fell into disrepair. The geyser was refurbished in 1911 and extensively restored in the 1970s. Today, the geyser still sends its stream of water into the air and is the centerpiece of a public park in the town of Old Fort.
The lake that furnishes the water for the geyser is on the current site of a Bed & Breakfast, the Inn on Mill Creek. Visitors to the Inn can enjoy its trout filled lake and visit the site of the valve and pipe where the water begins its long journey down the mountain to Andrews Geyser below.
— Dan Hardison
August 21, 2009
Live Your Life
"When you were born, you cried and the world rejoiced. Live your life so that when you die, you rejoice and the world cries."
— Cree saying
— Cree saying
Photo by Dan Hardison
Wilmington, North Carolina
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