The Journey Begins- Ardfern, Kilmartin and Achnabreac

November 14, 2016

The Journey Begins- Ardfern, Kilmartin and Achnabreac

So, the journey begins with a residential trip to Argyll, where I met my fellow students and tutors and began the process of getting creative!

Visual, poetic and musical creations below: all in all, a very productive couple of days...

Haiku Walk with Norrie Bissell

A fascinating couple of days spent in Argyll, visiting the stone circles at Temple Wood, Kilmartin standing stones and Achnabreac rock carvings.

Norrie Bissell gave us an insight into the Haiku format of poetry, with examples from his own work as well as traditional Japanese examples and those by other contemporary writers such as Alan Spence.
I had never attempted any kind of poetry composition before, but a contemplative silent stroll around Kilmartin soon provided inspiration!
I focused on emulating the rhythmic flow of the Haiku rather than getting tied up with syllable counting.
Here are a few of my maiden poetic efforts, along with some photographs to illustrate.

Kilmartin Cemetery
I’ve always been fascinated by graveyards and the insights they can give into an area and it’s inhabitants. I found some of the graves commemorating those lost at a young age particularly poignant.

Grass-enveloped tomb
Infinite time
Consumed by the earth

Beloved family
Bereaved of youth
The Elder left alone

Louisa Martin
“Sleeping” under stone
A tiny life

I was particularly moved by this headstone. We are perhaps led to believe that infant mortality *for the Victorians was an "occupational hazard", an everyday occurrence to be expected and endured: but here is a large (clearly expensive) memorial exclusively devoted to the 4 months and 21 days of the life of little Louisa Martin. Clearly her family had counted every single day of that life.

I was inspired to write a very simple Gaelic-style lullaby for Lousia; the sort that any mother could easily sing to her infant.

https://soundcloud.com/morag-currie-342215588/a-lullaby-for-louisa-martin/s-ocI2r

(*http://www.scran.ac.uk/scotland/pdf/SP2_3Health.pdf gives an idea of the child mortality rates in Scotland during the mid-1800s)

Standing Stones

Landscape framed
Green within grey
Sky surrounds

Temple Wood

Ancient circle
Granite tooth shards
Guard its heart

https://soundcloud.com/morag-currie-342215588/sleeping-under-stone-1

A piece for solo viola : I'd visualised some sort of ancient procession towards the stones, with the droning of the open 'C' suggestive of chanting voices.

Red rowan
Bursts amid lichen grey
Autumn’s arrival