Returning Again
Here you will find the images and words trying to connect to form an entity. To express my delight and joy at being in these sacred spaces. About fifteen years ago when I changed my film camera to digital I revisited favourite locations with it. Now I am doing this again with a new mirrorless digital camera. However, some images here are taken with my previous digital camera, as it had such a good zoom lens. And I used it to help me to take pictures again, after a long absence. But then the poetry made an appearance, and something seemed to click, not just the camera.
One thing led to another and I updated my camera as I wanted to be able to use the range of different controls and filters available in the new cameras, chiefly to be able to stand in front of a scene and choose to shoot it in black and white if I wanted. Previously, only available in post production, or in the past, with black and white film. Still, it sharpened up your skills.
An alchemy seemed to occur between my images and words, brought about by my experiences in the beautiful places I have revisited, a wonderful homecoming. Close friends encouraged me to share these works, so they can be enjoyed by others.
I hope they bring you peace, reflection and time to reconnect with your soul.
A Constant Truth
A Constant Truth
I turned back and yes I found you
In a burst of love and memory
Forever etched on the walls
Like a granite psalm
Time will track its steady path
Across all of my horizons
But nothing will alter my discovery
Of the simple truth that love remains
I can take this forwards with me
A constant companion on my way
As sure as the sun in the heavens
And until the end of days
Photography and Poetry
By Shelley Turner
Votive I
Votive I
Remember the light of the heart never goes out
It burns bright for as long as you are with me
You can leave your grief with me
Shed your memories for a while
Until they are more bearable to carry
Until they no longer feel like a wound
I collect these lights
It is what I am made of
There are so many across your world
Why do you think I burn so bright?
Photography and Poetry
By Shelley Turner
Light In The Darkness
Light In The Darkness
In the dark of the night
In the velvet quiet
When all seems at a loss
I am the light in the darkness
There is courage shining in my windows
Such strength in my walls
And rest under my arches
But most of all there is love in the light
Listen to the song of the Archangels
They will bring down the light
And the valour of warriors
For the soul of man
I am the light in the darkness
You are never alone
Michael is beside you
He is always with you
He brings my light to you
He lends his strength to you
He fills you with courage
He takes your fear away
Listen to the song of the Archangels
They will bring down the light
And cherish you forever
Like one of their own this night
Photography and Poetry
By Shelley Turner
Votive II
Votive II
What shall we call this, distanced lights?
But burn a light we shall
A light for a life
A light for the dead
The flame is our last light of defiance
Our remembrance of our dead
We will keep back the eternal darkness
Until the last one of us is spent
A light for all to follow
A light to keep us together
Loss is a universal emotion
A right of passage unlooked for but sent
But a light helps us to remember
It is something we can share
It reaches beyond this poetry
Where no words need to be said
Dedicated to all those who have died in the Pandemic of Covid 19
Photography and Poetry by Shelley Turner
All Our Days
All Our Days
All our days
And all our nights
Add up to this
A record in stone
Hardly a throne
We return
Again
From where
We came
An endless existence
With futile resistance
To what must be
So the sum of our days
Are a tally of our soul
And what peace we find
Amid the chaos in our mind
Should count as precious
As pure carbon diamonds
Littered on the path
As we try to follow
In your footsteps
To where we could be
Finally home
Photography and Poetry
By Shelley Turner
Rain
Rain
You always shelter me from the rain
But you have been calling me
Again and again
I feel that soft breeze blowing
Your breath moving the air
It's always like you are waiting
While I have one foot on the stair
Each time I visit
I open my eyes more fully
And there you are
All brilliant and new
Making me always smile with you
No one knows me like you do
There is no need to explain
I am in a constant conversation
Your words like lights in my head
I kept thinking I would have time
For all of this much later
Plenty of years ahead
But here's another poem
Words spilling out instead
Now I find I have no wish to leave
Content in your presence
Watching the summer rain
Pour down yet again
Photography and Poetry
By Shelley Turner
Dark Of The Night
Photography and Poetry
By Shelley Turner
Dark Of The Night
Look after me
In the dark of the night
On a winter's eve
When all I can see
Is the universe in your eyes
Endless and forever
Under these leaden skies
You gave me a chance to hope
Where I thought there was none
I heard your voice
Sensed your presence
Brighter than the sun
I walked on stardust
Into the labyrinth of time
Found you at the centre
And claimed you as mine
Now I welcome the darkness
I welcome the night
It means I can always travel
Across the bright heavens
Because I have fallen in love
So deeply and completely
With the eternal divine
The Light In The Darkness
Photography and Poetry
By Shelley Turner
The Light In The Darkness
Let me shine for you
In the depths of your heart
Where you can always find me
Even alone in the dark
Something has sent you here
Seeking reassurance
A balm for your soul
For a love that did not last
Reach for me if you need to
In the well of silence
Push aside the shadows
That linger so often on your walls
You will see a light still burning
Gently at first welcoming you
Then like a blaze of pure glory
You will recognise me there with you
Chapel Of Miracles
Photography and Poetry by Shelley Turner
Written in December 2020, in between lockdowns, during the Covid Pandemic.
Chapel Of Miracles
Can I ask on this night
Of winter dark and cold light
That I might have a single miracle
And see you again in my heart
My body burns with such loss
And I cannot get any closer
In here now of all places
You have been sealed off
But really such rules do not matter
I can find you waiting within me
It was the quiet I needed
Without all the chatter
So I will stand here and wonder
While the world tears itself asunder
Why people cannot be still for a moment
And welcome the peace that you bring
Morning Glory
Morning Glory
The beauty of the morning
The glory of each day
I see through your layers
Outlined by the frame
The sight turns into a prayer
With no need for any words
Just the mere sight of you
Gladdens my heart so well
My spirit longs to be with you
To travel faster than the light
Break the bonds that hold me
And find my place at your side
Photography and Poetry
By Shelley Turner
Beautiful work, and your poem "Chapel of Miracles" will strike a chord with many I am sure.
AT.💜