Grail Seeker
You have found your way to my life-long obsession. As I am writing this and thinking about it at the same time I have realised it has been with me since I was a child. It probably started off as just loving the shape of the Grail, which I still do, but when it became obvious I was always going to be involved in the Arts, also from a young age, and I found it featured in paintings, poems and novels I was hooked. Studies in theology followed, including the mysticism surrounding the whole corpus.
I have never really analysed why I am so fascinated, the Grail is just something that connects deeply to my soul. I look at my collection of Grails I have accumulated over the years and wonder about the real one, if there was one. But also what it represents, as the spiritual seekers ultimate goal of enlightenment.
Who does it serve? What does it serve? Thats the joy of it, as it is your own personal quest to find out. When I started to photograph my favourite Grails in the landscape some years ago something seemed to happen when I did so. A deeper communion occurred, the intense awareness of beauty and presence surrounded me. Sometimes it was to overwhelming to even carry on taking pictures. This has been a very private enterprise, but others have persuaded me that these images might be enjoyed by the public.
Whatever the outcome, I will carry on taking photographs of my Grails. The joy this experience gives me holds a special place in my life and one I want to continue to explore. But I hope, you the viewer, enjoy the images and poetry on this page. And you might find Grails on other pages of this website in the images, as they will not be contained no matter how hard I try.
My Grail
My Grail
My grail becomes a landscape
Somewhere I can travel
Back and forwards through time
But always searching for you
How can such beauty be around me
Yet I remain on my own
This is why I carry my grail with me
Its the only way I know
To reach back and forwards for you
Always releasing its song
Heaven and earth have now become one
Will you walk through time for me
And step into the summer sun
Collect this grail from me
Back to where it belongs
Back to the one I have loved for so long
Photography and Poetry
By Shelley Turner
Affirmation
Affirmation
You replace my heart
With a poem
That reminds me of you
Every time it beats
When my courage falters
I remember your endurance
Each drop of blood I shed
Matches your quiet patience
When I return
I always feel blessed
Such victories are so fleeting
Compared to your gentle largesse
I take up the cross
And my sword feels light
This time I may truly join you
My last battle finally in sight
Photography and Poetry
By Shelley Turner
The Green and The Gold
The Green and The Gold
Follow me on the path of the green and gold
Let your spirit rejoice in the renewal of life
Your footsteps light on the grass
Your heart singing like the grail
Follow me on the path of the green and gold
And find beauty in every verdant stem
Perfection in each shape
Every view like a heaven sent
Follow me on the path of the green and gold
Listen to the song of the grail
Always calling to your longing heart
Recognising a twin fate
Follow me on the path of the green and gold
Entwine your spirit with mine
Closer than you have ever been
Until you too become divine
Photography and Poetry
By Shelley Turner
Dedicated to my Husband
Timeless Tales
Timeless Tales
There will be tales told of me
Of when a rich merchant
Brought me to my resting place
In the summer lands of lore
Of when fearless Knights
Rode out in the storms of blight
Amid times of continual strife
When day was always night
To discover my gift of life
And heal in the eternal light
And you will remember me
In future times to follow
When these timeless tales
Restore you when all seems lost
And you will look for me
When there seems no way back
From the ravages of wars
And you will long for my gift to you
Of these timeless tales
That speak of love, joy and soul
For Matt
Photography and Poetry
By Shelley Turner
Dark Shadows
Photography and Poetry
By Shelley Turner
Dark Shadows
There is no promise of eternal life
From the dark cup of the vampire
Rather an eternal death
Repeated over and over
Like the glitter of fool's gold
Falling through your fingers
This grail holds up a mirror
Of false promises long and bitter
It is but a dark shadow in the night
No light will go any further
There is nothing left to care for
No reason to stay and linger
All hopes will fall away
With no soul or beating heart
Such creatures still walk the earth
Ready to sit at your hearth
They can wander out in daylight
But save their shadows for the night
They know it is impossible to resist
When they offer this cup as a gift
Together
Together
Now comes the quiet time
At the end of the day
When I look at you
And ask if I can stay
You make me complete
My life full of promise
For when I finally know
I can be with you and remain
A little while longer you said
But you can still find me
In those deep places
Where your mind can go
You can walk with me
Along the troubled corridors
Of your life and fate
So just come through the gate
You found another world
One you had so longed for
But never expected to be for you
On the other side of it all
You will see me with no shadow
And your light will join mine
Where you are I will follow
And together we will out run time
A Darker Light
Photography and Poetry
By Shelley Turner
A Darker Light
Be careful what you seek
Some promises are double edged
Such delights wish to overcome the meek
But with no way out from what you pledge
It won't be long before you find yourself
Disgraced and left for dead
Look deeply into what is reflected
What has caused the shadows
To elongate and move like that
And bend around the corners
Trace the light back to its source
Be wary before you make your choice
Photography and Poetry
By Shelley Turner
One Of Many
One Of Many
One of many
But equally loved
So longed for
Often misunderstood
Can such power exist
To grant eternal life
And what would you do
If you accepted
Watch the world keep revolving
And all your loved pass you in death
The Grail's true power is in understanding
That a leap of faith
Reaches further than mortality
Your spirit finds a homecoming
Beyond your imagining
Beyond all grief and forgiveness
Loss and pain
Photography and Poetry
By Shelley Turner
Song Of Sorrow
Song Of Sorrow
I contain the blood of the past
And all the blood of the future
At some point you will want reconciliation
On your personal altar
My cup runneth over
With blood that has been spilled
How many more does there need to be
Until everybody has been killed?
Can a cup hold too much blood
When does it reach saturation point
Or will it keep soaking it up
Like the warriors of old all gobbled up
The dead were poured in
Hoping for resurrection to begin
Ready to fight again
The flame rising for a fleeting moment
But it is only a short glory
One part of the endless story
Fading into history
Barely glimpsed but still there
But that's the lure
Of the promise of life everlasting
Repeating repeating
Always stopping but not really starting
Do you want to live again
False blood in your veins
Be honest be sure
Do you want to come back for more
My tears are now of blood
Running down my face
Is there any hope left for you
In this desolate place
This earth that I once called my home
Now you are all throwing stones
Any target will suffice
Especially if it is thrown with vice
Evil likes to use labels
It laughs when you mention Babel
Many voices all talking at once
Because is this not the truth of it all
Nobody is listening to those you once loved
All that is left after all these years
Is the scent of dried blood
And the screams in your ears
Photography and Poetry
By Shelley Turner
This work was created in October 2023