Monday, March 12, 2007

Ghost Stones


Come sit by the fire.

Spring weeps from the crystals of snow. Feel it blowing?

Come sit by the fire and push winter from the stones.


Look in on us when the years hammer flesh from bone. Pieces of us are here. Our fingers settled every stone.

These shapes are the frozen breath of our dreams. They remain, even when our souls long lay splintered by the trees.



(Ruins in the forest of Marsh Creek State Park, Chester County, Downingtown, Pennsylvania. This house stands on a hillside overlooking Brandywine Creek. The ruins of a large stone barn are nearby.)

21 comments:

Suzan Abrams, email: suzanabrams@live.co.uk said...

An eerie Gothic feel, Jason.
Powerfully displayed. :-)

anne said...

What a beautiful place! It's just got to be haunted. ;)

david santos said...

Hello, jonson
this work is very good, thank you
jave nice week

Terri said...

I love ruins. You gotta come to Ireland sometime, this place is full of them!
... oh and Brandywine Creek??? Isn't that near Hobbiton?!

Jaye Wells said...

I like ruins, too. So fun to explore and imagine. Thanks for sharing.

billie said...

Beautiful images and words. I especially love:

Pieces of us are here. Our fingers settled every stone.

It's the weight and gesture in all those settlings that comes through in the photos - what is still standing. What remains.

s.w. vaughn said...

Lovely shots, Jason. I see you have a video... oooh, gotta watch that! :-)

kcterrilynn said...

Great shots...now I'm going to spend my day wondering about what those stones have seen over the years.

(And as a matter of fact, Saturday morning did involve a hangover...how'd you know?)

Unknown said...

Wow you certainly gave those stones a voice. What beautiful photos too.

Anonymous said...

ooh... i want to live where you live.

the pictures look magical.

Maria said...

Very cool. The words and picture, both.

Anonymous said...

Susan, thank you. It's a very powerful place. It's hard to imagine what it looked like two hundred years ago.

Anne, perhaps I'll spend the night and find out....

David, welcome! Thank you for the kind words. You have a very impressive blog!

Terri, oh man, you gave me quite a laugh this morning. What a perfect way to start the day. As a matter of fact, yes, we're just north of Bag End. (And I would LOVE to visit Ireland.)

Jaye, I knew you'd enjoy these pictures. I have quite a bit more to share.

Billie, very perceptive. I appreciate your sensitivity. Having collected stones from a quarry to build a tiny foundation, I can only imagine the monumental work involved in constructing something this size by hand.

Sonya, definitely check it out! There are two older ones in the sidebar too.

KC, I would so love so see an engraving (or even a picture) of what that land looked like cleared and farmed. The forest has totally swallowed it.

Verillion, I wish I could capture even a fraction of what they know.

Kate, I could probably get the Amish to take you in. ;)

Maria, welcome! So great to have you visit and share this moment with me.

Jay said...

Great stuff again. Love the pictures. The writing gave me goosebumps, in that creepy, disturbing way.

Linda said...

ooooh what a lovely haunting place to explore!!

downward spiral said...

lovely, jason.

Wilf said...

Lovely ruin, Jason. I especially like it when fireplaces hang in the air like that - silly and sad at the same time.

S. Kearney said...

Gosh, Jason, your words got me feeling all nostalgic! :) lovely words and pictures!

Anonymous said...

Jay, goosebumps of any variety are good. Thanks for the kind words. =)

Beady, it's the third time I've visited at least. Each time is like the first. So amazing.

Anne, thanks. :)

Wilf, yes, that is striking! With the first level floor gone, everything takes on a strange, mismatched quality.

Shameless, thanks, my friend!

Anonymous said...

mmmmm! I love stone. This is going on this summer's places to visit. Lovely photos.

EATING POETRY said...

"These shapes are the frozen breath of our dreams. They remain, even when our souls long lay splintered by the trees."

These words made me want to weep with the beauty of them.

Anonymous said...

Gel, really? If you need directions, let me know.

Eating Poetry, I'm truly humbled. Thanks so much for the high compliment! :)