Kapiti Island: In The Stillness of its Solitude

Kapiti Island: In The Stillness of its Solitude, originally uploaded by TomRaven.

It overlooked in its serenity
The dark earth, and the bending vault of stars.
It was a tranquil spot, that seemed to smile
Even in the lap of horror.
~
'Tis the haunt
Of every gentle wind, whose breath can teach
The wilds to love tranquillity. One step,
One human step alone, has ever broken
The stillness of its solitude

From The Spirit of Solitude by Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822)

Best Viewed Large On Black - Kapiti Island from Otaki Beach, New Zealand [?]

Following The Full Crow Moon

Following The Full Crow Moon, originally uploaded by TomRaven.

Crow Moon, tonight you fly
at the balance of the year,
half light, half dark, tipping
your wing toward spring.

Crow Moon, caw away
this winter, gnaw the last
crusts of snow from the
frozen garden. Shine

the earthworms up to
the surface. Worm Moon,
Crow Moon, Full Sap Moon,
wake us up once more.

From Worm Moon, Crow Moon by Sharon Brogan from the blog WaterMark

Best Viewed Large On Black - Full Crow Moon over the Tararuas [?]

In this month the ground softens and the earthworm casts reappear, inviting the return of the birds. The more northern tribes knew this as the Full Crow Moon, when the cawing of crows signals the end of winter, or the Full Crust Moon because the snow cover becomes crusted from thawing by day and freezing at night. The Full Sap Moon, marking the time of tapping maple trees, is another variation. This is also the Paschal Full Moon; the first full moon of the spring season.

A Budding Flirt Put Forth Its Leaves!

A Budding Flirt Put Forth Its Leaves!, originally uploaded by TomRaven.

And sooth to say, I little doubt
(Some azure day, the truth will out!)
That certain baits in certain eyes
Caught many an unsuspecting prize;
And somewhere underneath these eaves
A budding flirt put forth its leaves!

From Katie by Henry Timrod (1828 - 1867)

Best Viewed Large On Black - View On Black

Bullrushes In The Mist

Bullrushes In The Mist, originally uploaded by TomRaven (On The Road).

Thare the bullrushes growed, and the cattails so tall,
And the sunshine and shadder fell over it all;
And it mottled the worter with amber and gold
Tel the glad lilies rocked in the ripples that rolled;
And the snake-feeder's four gauzy wings fluttered by
Like the ghost of a daisy dropped out of the sky,
Or a wownded apple-blossom in the breeze's controle
As it cut acrost some orchard to'rds the old swimmin'-hole.

From The Old Swimmin' Hole by James Whitcomb Riley (1849 - 1916)

Best Viewed Large On Black - Lake Burley Griffin, Canberra, Australia [?]

Victoria - After The Fire

Victoria - After The Fire, originally uploaded by TomRaven (On The Road).

Fall after the bush fire
The trembling of the earth.
Memories etch
The stalled step, and
The mute moment
Death turned out during a night of yearning
Except for him the consolation.

From Suburban Memories by Nguyễn Đạt

Six months on from Black Saturday the worst bush fires in Victoria's history, the green shoots of growth are returning. I met a couple out in the Bush walking their dogs... they had lost their house and their neighbours and were busy rebuilding. "It's a natural cycle, mate!" he said "burns from the top so it can regrow from the bottom". This is a tribute to all Victorians who suffered in the fires and continue to come to grips with the changes it brought to their lives.

Best Viewed Large On Black - Clonbinane, Victoria, Australia [?]

Homage to an Age of Industry

Homage to an Age of Industry, originally uploaded by TomRaven (On The Road).

The artifacts of the Age of Industry are solid things
Big things; of metal, concrete and stone

What of the Information Age?
What will we leave behind for future generations?

The artifacts of the Age of Information are ephemeral things
Little things; of bits and bytes and nanotech

Will they last the test of time?
Will Cyberspace outlast the Engineering of our past?

Tom Raven - 04.08.2009 - Sydney

Sculpture: Australian Angel - Bernard Luginbuhl, Switzerland (1929 -)
Background: The Sydney Harbour Bridge

Best Viewed Large On Black - Milsons Point, Sydney, Australia [?]

In The Land of Oz Series - Bronze

Farewell Aotearoa: On a Wing and a Prayer

Farewell Aotearoa: On a Wing and a Prayer, originally uploaded by TomRaven (On The Road).

In a far country, and a distant age,
Ere sprites and fays had bade farewell to earth,
A boy was born of humble parentage;
The stars that shone upon his lonely birth
Did seem to promise sovereignty and fame—
Yet no tradition hath preserved his name.
~
For oft, when he believed himself alone,
They caught brief snatches of mysterious rhymes,
Which he would murmur in an undertone,
Like a pleased bee’s in summer; and at times
A strange far look would come into his eyes,
As if he saw a vision in the skies.

Two excerpts from A Vision of Poesy by Henry Timrod (1828 - 1867)

Best Viewed Large On Black - Kapiti Island from the Air [?]