Ghost house , Poem By : Robert Frost – 1915
Derelict old house at Durrow , Co Laois, Ireland.
Irish landscape photography : Nigel Borrington
Ghost House
Robert Frost (1915)
I dwell in a lonely house I know
That vanished many a summer ago,
And left no trace but the cellar walls,
And a cellar in which the daylight falls,
And the purple-stemmed wild raspberries grow.
O’er ruined fences the grape-vines shield
The woods come back to the mowing field;
The orchard tree has grown one copse
Of new wood and old where the woodpecker chops;
The footpath down to the well is healed.
.
I dwell with a strangely aching heart
In that vanished abode there far apart
On that disused and forgotten road
That has no dust-bath now for the toad.
Night comes; the black bats tumble and dart;
The whippoorwill is coming to shout
And hush and cluck and flutter about:
I hear him begin far enough away
Full many a time to say his say
Before he arrives to say it out.
.
It is under the small, dim, summer star.
I know not who these mute folk are
Who share the unlit place with me—
Those stones out under the low-limbed tree
Doubtless bear names that the mosses mar.
They are tireless folk, but slow and sad,
Though two, close-keeping, are lass and lad,—
With none among them that ever sings,
And yet, in view of how many things,
As sweet companions as might be had.
Excellent post. Fabulous poem. The other day I visited the concrete floors and rubble and solitary basketball court complete with buddleia plants and shoulder high willows of the school where I gained my first promotion. It had once crackled with youth and hope and learning and the future and now it lay derelict, demolished, deserted.
May 22, 2014 at 2:58 pm
Hello Simon 🙂 🙂
I think we all have these places – their Ghosts reminding us of how fast time passes .
Thank you – thats a great addition to the post 🙂 🙂 🙂
May 22, 2014 at 8:09 pm
This is such a classic sounding poem, Timeless, just like the house. I actually saw a Most Haunted where they “investigated” this house (though I’ve forgotten its name)
Lovely …as ever, Nigel!
May 22, 2014 at 3:06 pm
Hello Morgan 🙂 🙂
That’s great I will see if I can find it online 🙂 🙂
Thank you !!!
May 22, 2014 at 8:06 pm
Pictures just so stunning, as always, and I truly loved the Poem. Haunted? why not, after all it is Ireland!!
May 23, 2014 at 12:42 am
What a lovely old house. The stories it could tell. You’ve captured it beautifully. Enjoyed the poem too. 🙂
May 23, 2014 at 1:01 am
You’ve definitely captured the spookiness Nigel! : )))
May 23, 2014 at 1:06 am
What a grand old house it would have been in it’s hey day eh? Wonderful captures Nigel and the poem is fabulous 🙂
May 23, 2014 at 1:32 pm
Fantastic and so enjoyable – poetry certainly gives you interesting photos another dimension
May 25, 2014 at 11:05 pm
Hello Diana 🙂 🙂
Thank you , 🙂
May 26, 2014 at 5:04 pm