Elements: series I - Where earth meets water

This howling land of ours is unforgiving:
“The brittle breaking of the hawthorn bough drowns out the screaming North wind as it punishes the rattling iron-gate, banging for forgiveness in the distance.
Our windswept winter land stirs a restlessness that aches for attention.
And yet, such lost moments of ghostly turmoil give way to a summer’s charm and, almost in a flicker, the trickling spring water from the mountains arrests the tears of the sea and there is suddenly quietness in the land.
A union of burnt umber, silica green-grey and flecks of dancing chestnut brown.”

Prose written by Anna King to accompany a dish of ‘Smoked Roasted Hen Of The Woods Mushroom and Seaweed Broth’ (by Chef Martin Ruffley) in ‘Rekindling the Fire: Food and The Journey of Life’ (p28). Published by Austin Macauley 2022.

Hen of The Woods. Dish by Martin Ruffley. Photography Julia Dunin.

landscape-photography-ireland — Cong, Connemara. Photo By Anna King

I hope that you enjoy these vignettes of where earth meets water.

Ode to the land of gorse: a love lost in transience

“Breaking through the indigo night sky
the cadmium yellow gorse flower
arrives unannounced
to herald the arrival of spring.
She holds no subtle secrets
as she gazes out across
the cold tin-white dew
washed up on the scattered shoreline.
A cacophony of gulls
watch with jilted stares
as the gorse flower commands
the attention of the sun -
to warm her prickly arrogance
in preparation for final combat
with the last shadow of winter.
And, as the evening light
rests upon the glazed grey Atlantic swirl,
tails of sea kelp
creep toward
the stunted shaly-shore.
Gorse and kelp behold each other’s worth
and, just for a moment,
they rest in each other’s splendour.
As dusk greets darkness
with notes of woody almond nectar,
kelp now dances alone
amidst salt crystals of luminous light.
All that remains are pebbles
battling for expression
against
rock,
earth,
stone
and sand.”

— Anna King

Prose written by Anna King to accompany a dish of ‘Gorse Flower and Sugar Kelp Cream’ (by Chef Martin Ruffley) in ‘Rekindling the Fire: Food and The Journey of Life’ (p35). Published by Austin Macauley 2022.

Gorse Flower and Sugar Kelp Cream. Photography Julia Dunin.

wild-atlantic-way-photography — Lovely Anne, Black Weir, Oranmore. Co. Galway. Photo credit: Anna King.

For centuries the ocean has been associated with health and community well-being, and the idea that our waterways hold the key for transformation and renewal still grips our modern-day imagination, especially for those of us living on the West coast of Ireland!

ANAM CARA: SOUL FRIEND

“It is on these West coast shores
that you, Anam Cara,
found my soul,
drifting,
watching,
waiting.

You have travelled
the passage of the stars
to settle quietly within my dreams,
and now that I am awake,
our silent friendship
softens the echo
that beckons across
the water of time.

And, as the far off tide
stirs the wind
of change,
only you
- Anam Cara -
stay calm
by my side.”

Lovely Anne - Day out with Galway Hooker Sailing Club and Chef Martin Ruffley. Photo Credit: Anna King

Lough Corrib, Galway

connemara-landscape-photography — The Island of Inishnee. Connemara. Ireland. Photo by Anna King