More from Kathleen Raine -
"To My Mountain"
Since I must love your north of darkness, cold, and pain, the snow, the lovely glen, let me love true worth,
the strength of the hard rock, the deafening stream of wind that carries sense away swifter than flowing blood.
Heather is harsh to tears and the rough moors give the buried face no peace but make me rise,
and oh, the sweet scent, and purple skies!
Kathleen Raine was a close friend of Winifred Nicholson's, and the two travelled together in Scotland and returned repeatedly to write and paint at Gavin Maxwell's house at Sandaig on the west coast by the Sound of Sleat. Above is Nicholson's "Loch Hourn", painted there, and below is her "Sandaig".
For Raine, however, Sandaig would eventually become a place of despair and sadness; you can read more on that here.
Thanks for the link to KR obituary. At least the last decade of her life brought a measure of peace and fulfillment.
Posted by: Wanda J | 15 February 2008 at 04:59 AM
Yes, a very special place with its burn and waterfall; its shore life, sea-life and bird-life; view over to Skye and, of course, its history. (Ordnance Survey Grid Ref: OSNG 719019)
Posted by: Barbara MacLeod | 15 February 2008 at 09:03 AM
Thank you, Cornflower! Beautiful poem and pictures to start the day...and a most fascinating story in the obituary. Tragic and moving.
Posted by: adele geras | 15 February 2008 at 10:11 AM