A ghost-girl-rider. And though, toil-tried,
He withers daily,
Time touches her not,
But she still rides gaily
In his rapt thought
On that shagged and shaly
Atlantic spot.
And as when first eyed
Draws rein and sings to the swing of the tide.
Excerpt from The Phantom Horsewoman by Thomas Hardy from Sounds Good - 101 Poems to be Heard edited by Christopher Reid
Inspiration is everywhere. I noted this poem last year. It reminded me of a girl rider at St.Michael's Mount who I mused over for a while. Written during the time Hardy was haunted by his first wife Emma, soon after her sudden death; it reflects upon happy times spent in Cornwall where they first met. This poem is about memory and the power of imagination. It contrasts the gritty physical world and (in this case) the carefree illusion of the spiritual world. St. Michael's Mount is an apt symbol for the passing of time. Nostalgia and the merging of past and present .... the interplay of life, art and words .... feeding one another, connecting and giving meaning to ..... Inspiration is everywhere.
Please take a look around my new Melanie McDonald online gallery shop!
Paintings at Melanie McDonald Gallery
Join the chat with me on Twitter
Say hello on Facebook
Pin me on Pinterest
Follow my pictures on Tumblr
