A dear friend of mine reminded me of the soothing, soulful writings of the poetic W. B. Yeats today.  Nobel Prize Winner, poet, playwright, painter and politician, but first and foremost an Irishman with fiery passion and heart. Here is one of my favorites by this talented artist.  Followed by a musical renditon of the same by the talented Lorenna McKennitt.  Enjoy ...

"Moonlight Reflections"

@Copyrighted Photograph.  All Rights Reserved: Isabelle Black Smith.

The Stolen Child
by W. B. Yeats
Where dips the rocky highland Of Sleuth Wood in the lake, There lies a leafy island Where flapping herons wake The drowsy water rats; There we've hid our faery vats, Full of berrys And of reddest stolen cherries. Come away, O human child! To the waters and the wild With a faery, hand in hand, For the world's more full of weeping than you can understand. Where the wave of moonlight glosses The dim gray sands with light, Far off by furthest Rosses We foot it all the night, Weaving olden dances Mingling hands and mingling glances Till the moon has taken flight; To and fro we leap And chase the frothy bubbles, While the world is full of troubles And anxious in its sleep. Come away, O human child! To the waters and the wild With a faery, hand in hand, For the world's more full of weeping than you can understand. Where the wandering water gushes From the hills above Glen-Car, In pools among the rushes That scarce could bathe a star, We seek for slumbering trout And whispering in their ears Give them unquiet dreams; Leaning softly out From ferns that drop their tears Over the young streams. Come away, O human child! To the waters and the wild With a faery, hand in hand, For the world's more full of weeping than you can understand. Away with us he's going, The solemn-eyed: He'll hear no more the lowing Of the calves on the warm hillside Or the kettle on the hob Sing peace into his breast, Or see the brown mice bob Round and round the oatmeal chest. For he comes, the human child, To the waters and the wild With a faery, hand in hand, For the world's more full of weeping than he can understand. (Poem courtesy of poets.org)

Song:  "Stolen Child", By Loreena McKennitt




God Bless and keep the man who picks me up when the little child in me falls completely apart once again.

Leap of Faith ...

Late night, last night ... Up after crashing hard for about 2 hours.  Just playing around with old photos to see if any art was waiting to be unlocked.  This is what came out.  Feel free to download and use, print this one if you'd like.  This is the full resolution, canvas size.  I call this one .. "Leap of Fatih."

I can't think of a song for this one?  I'm drawing a complete blank.  Tired today ... If you have any suggestions.  If you leave me a song, I promise to do my best to try and sing along ... Or, I could save you a slow dance ; )

7/12/2012 ... Finally found a song for this ....

Song: "Lights", By Ellie Goulding

Moonlight Illumination ...

A toast ...

"Moonlight Illumination" a.k.a. "Ghosts in the Machine 2"

@Copyrighted Photograph, 2012.  All Rights Reserved:  Isabelle Black Smith.

"Life can only be understood backwards;
but it must be lived forwards." ~Soren Kierkegaard

Song: "The Shape of My Heart", By Sting




7/5/2012 ... Sometimes you find the wisdom you most need to hear in the most unexpected of places.  Thank you, Paul.  Your quote from Bukowski fits perfectly with the answer I have been seeking all along.

Do Not 'Speak', Unless You Can Improve Upon the Silence?

"Do not speak, unless you can improve upon the silence."

~Quote from the Movie, "Everafter"

"Moonlight Reflections"

@Copyrighted Photograph, 2011.  All Rights Reserved:  Isabelle Black Smith.

"Be the waves that shape the world around you toward a greater end." 
~Isabelle Black Smith

I posted this quote the other day along with a photographic scene of exquisitely large pieces of driftwood in my post titled "Synchronicity." I am wondering now, based on a series of events that unfolded during the course of my day:  If you make no waves ... always 'play' within the safety of the 'lines' ... then how can you possibly shape the world around you?  Hmmmm ... perhaps not all are meant to shape the world toward a greater end?

Another thought, drifting in and out of my consciousness, was a seed planted from a line in a movie that I watched the other day:  "Do not speak, unless you can improve upon the silence"  [The title of this piece].  Well, from here my thoughts wonder toward another saying from conventional wisdom (despite my best efforts to steer them otherwise):  "Actions speak louder than words."  ... So then, what about 'inaction'?  Does it speak ... or speak as loudly as 'action'?  Based on my observations in watching people move through daily life, I would argue that inaction speaks perhaps the loudest.  That's my position for the moment ... we shall see if it holds.  I think there is some more pondering to do upon this subject.

And such are the motions, the late night ramblings of a tired mind ... Do you see now why I cannot sleep  (my  haunting nightmares aside)?  So many questions to be explored and yet answered ...

"Procession of Souls", By Louis Welden Hawkins

(Image Courtesy of ArtMagick.com)

 Here follows a poem that I wrote, as my thoughts unraveled, while pondering the above notions this night  ....

"Do Not 'Speak', Unless You Can Improve Upon the Silence?"

Silent mist, veil of shaded fog ...

Down sullen path do they hither trod.

The lost souls, wander on pointless journey.

A weary, disheveled band, they wander

As they once did:  cyclical marching,

Innermost feeling and emotions

Safely hid, tucked deeply down inside.

Parade of Lost souls marches samely,

In ordered fashion through motions

Of a recounted ordinary life.

Lost souls afraid to speak.

Lost souls forgotten how to seek?

Lost souls mild and meek ...

Lost souls afraid to be heard,

Ever fearful of the spoken word,

Lest deemed they to be absurd.

Lost souls afraid to be seen?

Lost souls afraid to truly live.

Do they pray a second chance

To them give?

Bounded by feared perceptions.

Afraid to breech set boundaries

Of an accepted worldly life,

Lest to be named

Inflictors of 'needless strife.'

To them the ordered march

Would thus suffice.

... But, ah to wonder,

Inflicting chaos upon the order,

To color and boldly outside the lines ...

Such a subtlety of knowing, sublime;

Alas to Lost Souls lies,

For the moment hidden:

Until, perhaps in due time

It be bidden.    

@Copyright Poem, 2011.  All Rights Reserved:  Isabelle Black Smith.

And in closing, I am reminded of a very wise saying ... "In order to understand the living:  you got to know the dead."

BE The Change you want to see in the world ...

I am loving all this activity in political arena lately.  It has been a healthy distraction for me . 'They' say never talk religion and politics, but those are often the most interesting subjects, I think.  The key to being able to converse on the subjects of religion and politics is to keep an open mind and to be willing to listen to the points of view of others from the perspective of an honest interest in becoming more enlightened,broadening your mind and horizons so to speak.  I often try to put myself into the place of others in an effort to see where they are coming from.  And sometimes, let's face it:  you just have to agree to disagree.  Our differences are part of what makes this world so dynamic, varied and wonderful.   You can disagree with someone and still strive to find a common ground of mutual respect for one another' it takes a bit of effort, but it can be done. 

Mutual respect seems to something that is sorely lacking as the "Occupy Wall Street" movement has evolved.  When you lose sight of mutual respect all you are left with is a nebulous cloud of chaos and discord at best, and in a worse case scenario you are left with violence and destruction which serves no good end.  Once you start down the road to violence and destruction, you move the objective beyond free speech into revolution and potential anarchy.  I have to wonder if this where the "Occupy" movement truly wants to go and if so, to what end?

I suspect that those who are calling for violence and destruction on Wall Street today do not speak for the majority, but right now they seem to be the ones speaking the loudest.  Unfortunately, horrible things have been done in the name of group dynamics ... "group think" ... You don't have to look back far into current events around the world or history at large to find them.  So I urge you in the silent majority of the "Occupy Wall Street" movement to speak up, be heard ... be the lone voice of reason if necessary.  One voice of reason can make all the difference; sometimes, it just takes the courage of one man ... one woman, one child ... to speak up and lead, instead of merely continuing to be led.

"Moonlight Reflection"

@Copyrighted Photograph, 2011.  All Rights Reserved:  Isabelle Black Smith.

Well, today is still early morning ... late night.  So let us pause in the silence of the tranquil night, reflect, regroup and act towards a greater end.  Say "NO" to violence and destruction, and help the "Occupy" movement regain some of its credibility and direction.




"You must be the change you wish to see in the world"  ~Mahatma Gandhi 





You know, I have to wonder if perhaps a lot of what is driving the "Occupy Wall Street" movement stems from a lack of leadership at the presidential level.  It's hard to keep your morale up when you can't find work, you've got mounting personal and national debt weighing on you, your future and your children's future look bleak, our nation is no longer respected in the world as we once were and our own commander in chief is treating us as if we, the American people, are to blame for the current state of affairs in our nation ... stating that "Americans have gotten soft" ... "American have gotten lazy."   Now, more than ever, I think we need a strong leader with a clear vision for the future of America and an unwavering pride in our nation.  Perhaps the Republican field of candidates would do well to adopt "Pride in America" as campaign strategy?  It might just give them the edge that they need to surge ahead in the polls .... Just a thought.


12/7/2011 ... A friend of mine posted this in my ART group early this morning.  I Think that it fits nicely with my last thoughts on pride in America ... Pride in anyone's homeland.


"Breathes There The Man"


By, Sir Walter Scott


Breathes there the man with soul so dead
Who never to himself hath said,
This is my own, my native land!
Whose heart hath ne'er within him burned,
As home his footsteps he hath turned
From wandering on a foreign strand?
If such there breathe, go, mark him well;
For him no minstrel raptures swell;
High though his titles, proud his name,
Despite those titles, power, and pelf,
The wretch, concentred all in self,
Living, shall forfeit fair renown,
And, doubly dying, shall go down
To the vile dust from whence he sprung,
Unwept, unhonored, and unsung.