Walking through a field at Coolehill , images with a poem
Coolehill, Windgap, County Kilkenny
Irish Landscape Photography : Nigel Borrington
Walking across a field at Coolehill
Walking across the fields of Coolehill,
Ash, Briar, hawthorn, holly, and hazel
A wall around the field that your in.
.
Above you
is a big blue sky, with its layers of soft clouds,
held up by the rows of oaks.
A sheltered patch of sunshine:
.
I stop
and stand in silence
and close your eyes
and feel the warmth on your face,
whilst a blackbird sings.
inspired by Holbury Lane, Lockerley
Green Mountain
The Comeragh Mountains, Tipperary, Ireland
Irish Landscape Photography : Nigel Borrington
Green Mountain
– Li Po. Translated by: A. S. Kline’s
You ask me why I live on Green Mountain ?
I smile in silence and the quiet mind.
Peach petals blow on mountain streams
To earth and skies beyond Humankind.
.
You ask me why I dwell in the green mountain?
I smile and make no reply for my heart is free of care.
As the peach-blossom flows down stream
and is gone into the unknown,
I have a world apart that is not among men.
After the storms , Poem By : Boris Pasternak
Storm clouds over County Kilkenny
Landscape Photography : Nigel Borrington
After The Storm
By : Boris Pasternak
The air is full of after-thunder freshness,
And everything rejoices and revives.
With the whole outburst of its purple clusters
The lilac drinks the air of paradise.
The gutters overflow; the change of weather
Makes all you see appear alive and new.
Meanwhile the shades of sky are growing lighter,
Beyond the blackest cloud the height is blue.
An artist’s hand, with mastery still greater
Wipes dirt and dust off objects in his path.
Reality and life, the past and present,
Emerge transformed out of his colour-bath.
.
The memory of over half a lifetime
Like swiftly passing thunder dies away.
The century is no more under wardship:
High time to let the future have its say.
It is not revolutions and upheavals
That clear the road to new and better days,
But revelations, lavishness and torments
Of someone’s soul, inspired and ablaze.
A January Morn, a Poem by Nelda Hartmann
Kilkenny landscape photography
New years day 2014
Irish Landscape
A January Poem
January Morn
By – Nelda Hartmann
Bare branches of each tree
on this chilly January morn
look so cold so forlorn.
Gray skies dip ever so low
left from yesterday’s storm.
Yet in the heart of each tree
waiting for each who wait to see
new life as warm sun and breeze will blow,
like magic, unlock springs sap to flow,
buds, new leaves, then blooms will grow.”
Snow on snow, By James Hart
Snow covers the welsh hills
Landscape Photography : Nigel Borrington
It Christmas eve, so I felt it was time for a winters poem and a picture.
Happy Christmas everyone!
Snow on snow
By : James Hart
Snow on snow
Flakes gently falling
Like leaves from a tree
Asking permission
Before they land
On the snowflakes underneath
Each one different
Like leaves on a tree
A white carpet
Pure white till soiled
By children’s shoes
They love its touch
Ooo snowball fights
Snow doesn’t hurt
Snow is soft and forgiving
People hurt
They are selfish and cruel
So let it snow
Snow on snow on
Snow on snow
A Lighthouse By : Ashley Rose
A Lighthouse
By : Ashley Rose
The stone facade bound into the coarse rock,
Signaling, sending, and saving,
Streaks of light alluring threat to vessels.
Like flare of alert, warning of an ominous havoc.
Sending waves of whispering light into the mute air,
Advising all to depart back to the watchful sea.
The light reflects on the storm driven oceans,
tracing the surface with an inkling of caution,
a lighthouse, beacon of hope.
The tides swoosh against the jagged cliff,
where tattered remains of a ship remain.
The waves roar as a dull overcast envelopes the sky.
The lighthouse’s beams echo off a ship,
leading the wandering adrift to safer waters,
as a guide to shelter.
A Fellow Man , A Humanist Poem : Tom White
Nikon D700, 35mm f2.8 lens
The doors of, Santa Maria Degli Angeli, Rome.
Photography by : Nigel Borrington
A Fellow Man
A Humanist Poem : Tom White
I have no prayers or charms of faith
If God there be, He’ll know my weight
If God be nought, I’ll still do good
And practice justice as I should
We should not seek reward to do
What decency expects us to
Should Heaven be a kingly court
I’ll go elsewhere to prove my worth
Don’t get me wrong – I’ve sought belief
But lust for faith brought no relief
Mere logic leaves me where I stand
I am not blest, nor am I damned
I seek to do what good I can
I am your friend, a fellow man.
Images of a Winters Message – Poem by Mark R Slaughter
Images from a Kilkenny winter
Irish landscape photography : Nigel Borrington
A Winter Message
By : Mark R Slaughter
A flake of snow in flurry thro’ the air
Had landed as a kiss upon my cheek:
A secret message, just for me to share;
.
To take to heart but never dare to speak
About or presuppose to other eyes
Your open feelings – distant though they are.
And so, upon my own surprise:
A flake of snow returned from me afar.
.
Sunday
Fujifilm X100
Hills above the Nire Valley
Landscape photography : Nigel Borrington
Sunday into Monday, the weekends fading light!
A Poem:
Dissolve
feelings fade
like the dull horizon
diminished by the sun
shades of orange
slowly turn dark
and bare themselves
like starlight
to the evening skyline
and the constant clamour of the countryside
decrescendos
into the babbling brook
and soft chirps of frogs
until once again
sleep comes
and a new morning
brings different light
Kassel D “and the constant clamour of the countryside”
And life is like this?
Nikon D7000, 18-200mm vr lens
Nigel Borrington
One morning two years ago I was out walking Molly on the beach at Oysterhaven, county Cork, when I noticed this Woman learning to windsurf, time and time again she went through this cycle – on the board off the board. Up again time and time again. I remember telling myself there you have it, that’s it that’s life, we don’t belong on the board do we. Naturally we belong off the board but its our job to keep getting back on!
So a poem
Getting back up
Life is a bright, long star boulevard,
Where you get good, when you work hard.
But Life is not a fantasy,
or just a love that’s shared between thee’
It’s a battlefield of broken goals,
A purple sky with empty souls.
The city streets with littered trash,
the wild fire left with ash.
Falling, hurting,
crying, blurting,
fearing, slipping,
failing, tripping.
Lies from fakers,
burning heart breakers.
Those knocking you down,
smiling when you frown.
But others tell you keep on going,
you try so hard though your steps are slowing.
You can’t see the future or get a head start,
So getting back up is the hardest part.
I think life is a learning experience, sometimes we fail and sometimes we fall off. I think we will be measured by our ability to both recognise this fact and then to see the process of climbing back on as just part of the fun!
Nigel
Tramore Beach
Nikon D200, 35mm focal length f2.8 lens, Iso 800
Tramore Beach,
County Waterford
Word list and play:
People, beach, sand, sounds, waves, cars, chips, cans, parking, fun, dogs, running, holes, digging, walking, sitting, looking, sleeping, parents, kids, couples, crying, kicking, ball, boats, boards, paper, bags….
Feel free to add more !
Nigel Borrington 
A day at Ballybunion beach, a Poem
Ballybunion beach, county Kerry, Ireland
Landscape photography : Nigel Borrington
One day last summer while I was walking along the beach at Ballybunion,county Kerry, I was trying to think of words that gave a sense of this place , so I jotted down the following word list for a poem, but I feel its a poem as it is.
Ballybunion beach
cool air, sound of sea birds, fresh breeze,
people walking, dogs running, cold swimmers, children shouting,
Waves rolling, people eating, chatting, talking, cliffs casting shadows,
Old castle walls dominating, caves temping you to explore,
Posters offering family photographs, lunch time meals and places to shop,
Restful moments , capturing views,
Old people pottering, memories of traditions past,
Time dragging to a stop, mind slowing,
Families gathering, men managing, car doors shutting, keys locking, after parking,
deep breaths taken, locations chosen, bags unpacked,
People now sitting, grannies talking, best instructions, suggestions given,
Steps taken, shoes in hand,
Temperature falling, evening calling, holiday homes inviting,
Beach clearing, winds rising, cold setting in,
Sea birds return, dogs last walk of the day
Night fisher man setting lines, day over
Peace and nature returning, tide rising,
On Ballybunion beach.
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April 7, 2014 | Categories: Comment, Gallery, Landscape, Poetry Gallery, Travel Locations | Tags: a sense of place, Ballybunion, Ballybunion beach, county kerry, Ireland, Irish photography, Nigel Borrington, poem, poetry, word list | 21 Comments