Old Bottles

What happened is, we grew lonely
living among the things,
so we gave the clock a face,
the chair a back,
the table four stout legs
which will never suffer fatigue.

We fitted our shoes with tongues
as smooth as our own
and hung tongues inside bells
so we could listen
to their emotional language,

and because we loved graceful profiles
the pitcher received a lip,
the bottle a long, slender neck.

Even what was beyond us
was recast in our image;
we gave the country a heart,
the storm an eye,
the cave a mouth
so we could pass into safety.


Things, by Lisel Mueller


I'm thinking of this photo (and poem) as a companion of sorts to to my Morandi inspired still life from January. Or perhaps my photo of some old toys from almost a year ago, since this image was taken at the same location. This time, however, these old bottles were already arranged on a shelf of odds and ends attached to the side of the ramshackle old cabin on the shore of Long Pond. I wanted to hike back out there before the access road opened again, at which point I wouldn't be as sure the place was going to be uninhabited. I was hoping I could spend some quiet time in a nice sheltered spot I knew of just past the cabin and maybe use my new telephoto attachment to photograph some ducks or a loon or something, but no luck. It was a nice place to relax though, and the extra is taken from where I sat. Looking at the mountains on the far right of the photo, you can almost see where I took this shot last summer. One of the things I like about the island is how connected everything feels as I hike around it. Today I explored a little in the woods behind the cabin and realized there was a very distinct path cutting into the woods heading away from the shore. It's obviously part of an old trail or cart road, and much longer than I would have expected. I found myself wandering farther (and further) into the woods, but since my pack was still sitting under a tree by the shore I decided it was best to come back and explore some more on another day when I was more prepared. If I don't get around to it soon I'll probably have to wait until fall.