18 December, 2008

Skywatch Friday-Scene from a Disused Graveyard

The living come with grassy tread
To read the gravestones on the hill;
The graveyard draws the living still,
But never any more the dead.

The verses in it say and say;
The ones who living come today
To read the stones and go away
Tomorrow dead will come to stay.

So sure of death the marbles rhyme,
Yet can't help marking all the time
How no one dead will seem to come,
What is it men are shrinking from?

It would be easy to be clever
And tell the stones: Men hate to die
And have stopped dying now forever.
I think they would believe the lie.
In a Disused Graveyard-Robert Frost


Please visit Skywatch Friday for more fabulous photographs from throughout the world. Photographed at Godwin Cemetary, Fincastle,Virginia-December 6, 2008 in the howling wind and bitter cold. I laid on the grass to take this shot through the gravestone. The tree in the picture is over two hundred years old.

32 comments:

George Townboy said...

Awesome shot!! Great post.

Pok Dell said...

This place must be scary at night.
Nice shot..

My SWF is up too here

Ruth said...

The perspective of this picture is so interesting. Good for you for getting on the ground to take it. I love walking through old graveyards. The Robert Frost poem is most appropriate.

indicaspecies said...

Interesting shot. Thanks for sharing the Frost poetry too.

- celine
http://indicainq8.wordpress.com

Jane Hards Photography said...

Very dramatic image.

Patricia said...

Nice shot of a graveyard along with the poem that touched my heart...
Your photo is very "unique" on this skywatch experience...
Thanks for sharing, nice!
My blog

Lew said...

Great sky watch! These 1800's cemeteries are interesting, with their unusual monuments and epitaphs.

Anonymous said...

Really cool effect on the headstones! Nice post!

angela said...

Cemetries are always interesting places to wander round.
Your shot's fascinating; I like the angle and the colours. The poem is particularly apt.

EG CameraGirl said...

Nice perspective. Funny what we sometimes have to do to get that great shot!

Anonymous said...

What a cool shot! And actually, I like cemeteries!

Carletta said...

Great perspective!
Nice shot of an interesting marker.
I loved the Frost poem - very fitting.

Loran said...

This is a fantastic picture!

Leora said...

Cemeteries... so much past life there. So much to learn. Nice poem, great choice for a photo.

Mojo said...

Awesom in a very film noire kind of way. I love the contrast on the markers. Very fitting.

Pietro Brosio said...

Very fine post for Sky Watch.
I enjoyed the photograph and the poem.
Merry Christmas!

Anonymous said...

Old graveyards are fascinating. They show glimpses of stories on the verge of being consciously forgotten.

Anonymous said...

Intriguing picture! How come the graveyard isn't being used anymore? Is it full, or just forgotten?

Ana said...

Very impressive shot and poem. Happy swf

Tarolino said...

Erie feel to this weeks post but nevertheless an excellent shot of a very old monument and the poem accompanies so perfectly this picture. I too must commend you for actually getting down on a grave to get this camera angle right so that the sky would show too.

PJ said...

Beautiful photograph and the perfect verses to go with it. I wish I had that gift. Have a great weekend.

Shannon said...

That is an interesting old tombstone, and great perspective. Very cool shot..

Anonymous said...

Nice shot. Good composition. Great photo.

Anonymous said...

Fantastic picture!
But the place looks scary, lol..

Anonymous said...

Stunning photo!

Paz

MedaM said...

Impressive post, dramatic photo and wonderful poem!

Tanya Breese said...

Gorgeous shot! Is this the cemetery by the library?

Kerri Farley said...

Fabulous shot! Well worth getting on the ground for!!

Michele said...

Oh neat, this does look really awesome. I love the perspective on this shot! Very good!
~Michele~
Mountain Retreat- Canada

Namnet said...

This photo and the poem made my night (as it is about midnight when I am writing this)!
I simply love it. The contrast, the colours, the composition, all followed by a wonderful poem. Together it creates something really powerful and amazing.
Thank you for sharing, happy skywatching, and Merry Christmas!:-)

Jeannelle said...

Oh, great point-of-view in this photo! Very meaningful, and with the matching poem. Superb!

??? said...

Gorgeous shot, it's like a hand-coloured postcard. I would love to see that place, graveyards are so interesting.