Claddaghduff, Ireland

The next stop on our tour of the west of Ireland took us a bit further north into the Clifden area. It took us about an hour from Galway, and it was well worth the trip. Again we had amazing weather and the sky was clear blue, the air light and breezy. This is in […]

Ohiopyle, PA

In between my Ireland posts, I wanted to sneak in a quick trip I made at the beginning of July to beautiful Ohiopyle, in the Laurel Mountains of Pennsylvania. This is one of my most favorite spots to visit, and I’ve been going there ever since I was a kid. We would camp, ride bike […]

Kylemore Abbey, Connemara, Ireland

One of the sites high on my list of “places to visit” while in the west was the beautiful Kylemore Abbey. If you haven’t heard of it, like myself, you probably have seen a picture of it on any number of obligatory Irish marketing materials. What myself and family members have always referred to sardonically […]

Galway, Ireland (Gaillimhe)

I recently returned to my little part of Pennsylvania from a 2 week excursion abroad. I visited Ireland again, and each time I return to that beautiful country, I vow to come back. My previous visit was all the way back in 2003, as a young, bright-eyed college student, who visited Dublin and Co. Meath […]

Just me

Those small feelings, they surface quietly. Aloneness, but not loneliness. I make my way to the house and sip on some tea. Perhaps play something baroque, just audibly. There’s never anyone else but me. Can anything truly be shared? I walk thru the woods, speak to the plants and trees. This is me. Just me.

Spring

The oak’s bare limbs scatter the early Spring light onto tender greens. The lichen observes the rabbit, and waits. And the trees listen. The last chilly breeze means nothing to the wing of the robin. Poised, she sings.

May 1st

When I woke up this morning, the bright light was already streaming through my window. It was May 1st alright, and about time that spring had arrived in my part of the world. April was a lot colder than it usually is, and you could tell as much by the slow, slow budding of trees […]

Further

The heavy, wet drops fall. (upon my soul) I peer into my abyss below. (the weight of your gaze) Shadow or light, there is no difference here. (leaves me pining for more) Into the deep, further and further I go. (to remove my bareness) To where the grey mist bellows, (to complete my design) And […]

The Harmony Society Cemetery

I’m getting married this autumn, and I recently found the dress of my dreams at a local shop in a hamlet north of Pittsburgh, that goes by the name of Zelienople. It’s a quaint town, where the main street is actually called Main Street. It has such a strange name, and I’ll admit I’ve always […]

Mother Willow

Mother Willow my heart, my tree. My despair, my self-hate, my worthlessness, take from me. Mother Willow your long branches wrap me, My hope, my self-love, my purpose, help me to see. Like a mother I can only remember, calming, soothing, swaying, holding. You wipe my tears and give me rest. You […]