E. A. Poe (Published 1829)

Spirits of the Dead

Thy soul shall find itself alone
'Mid dark thoughts of the grey tomb-stone --
Not one, of all the crowd, to pry
Into thine hour of secrecy:
Be silent in that solitude
Which is not loneliness -- for then
The spirits of the dead who stood
In life before thee are again
In death around thee -- and their will
Shall then overshadow thee: be still.

For the night -- tho' clear -- shall frown --
And the stars shall look not down,
From their high thrones in the Heaven,
With light like Hope to mortals given --
But their red orbs, without beam,
To thy weariness shall seem
As a burning and a fever
Which would cling to thee for ever :

Now are thoughts thou shalt not banish --
Now are visions ne'er to vanish --
From thy spirit shall they pass
No more -- like dew-drop from the grass:

The breeze -- the breath of God -- is still --
And the mist upon the hill
Shadowy -- shadowy -- yet unbroken,
Is a symbol and a token --
How it hangs upon the trees,
A mystery of mysteries! -- (5 years and 2986 days ago)

3 Comments

Spirits, the, Dead

robvdn says:

You make friends with the admin entering this photo author

REPLY

author says:

I promise, the name was purely a coincidence...I saw the grave marker from a distance and thought it would be perfect for the shot I had planned. When i arrived there and saw the name, I was in total shock...I could never have planned that! LOL

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author says:

Note: This is a 10 second exposure at ISO 100, f/22....the shot was taken at twilight, it only appears to be taken during the daytime...

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Howdie stranger!
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(5 years and 2986 days ago)

(5 years and 2986 days ago)

1 fav:

(5 years and 2986 days ago)

7 Comments

Cracks, the, Sky

UncleJimmy says:

Wow...what a lucky capture, never quite saw one go in a circle before...nice

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Bambi says:

Great shot, how long was the exposure for this shot, I guess they are multiple lightning strikes. The purple colour is fantastic.

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author says:

It was a 2 sec exposure, at f/8. I was using a cable remote to shoot continuously. Pretty funny experience since it was raining and I essentially wrapped my camera with plastic wrap. Took about 800 photos that night and only 3 came out with lighting

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samanthasusco says:

absolutely beautiful!!!

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kyricom says:

VERY cool... bummer about the wire

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author says:

I don't know, I like the silhouette made by the wire in the center but I think there's too many lines at the bottom. Oh well I was under a balcony to keep my camera as sheltered as possible and I was quite limited to the space I had on the balcony.

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drskn08 says:

Amazing man !!!

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Howdie stranger!
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The Little Church
(Rosedale)

I love a little church, a plain, old fashioned meeting-house,
Hard by a traveled road, or on a wind-swept hill;
Where the people stand to sing: "All hail the power,"
And each reverent knee is bent before the heavenly will.

I love the pleasant folks, neighbor-like and friendly;
I love the bent gray heads that crowd the narrow pews;
Restless children bobbing up and down upon the hard seats,
While the preacher reads aloud the foreign mission news.

There's a tuneful choir of frogs, somewhere in the hollow;
Through the open window comes a breath of meadow-sweet.
There's a holy stillness that is like a benediction,
Making every little pew a perfect glory-seat.

I've no religion that the dear Lord would be thinking of,
But I love His little church wherever it may be.
"Alas, and did my Saviour bleed," and "All hall the power,"
And "Holy, Holy, Holy,"____they are fine enough for me.


The Call of Kansas and Other Poems
Esther M. (Clark) Hill
(Cedar Rapids: Torch Press. __)
Page 43 (5 years and 2986 days ago)