53 Comments
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Rata Gordon's avatar

Oh the tender madness and liquid logic of rivers. Beautiful.

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Sara Santa Clara's avatar

Thank you for another wonderful essay!

Beautiful imagery, I love the idea of a potter at work, shaping the landscape. You have changed the way I will forever look at round holes in rocks! 😄

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Lor's avatar

“As their swirl-pool water-wheels spin they are forming the bowls and cups where summer blackbirds bathe and a wren takes tea.”

…and where I might dip a toe or two, but mostly just like to take a seat and gaze in wonder at all the treasures that have been temporarily captured in the limestone bowls. I do hope you don’t mind that I added one of my many favorite pleasures of visiting a river. And you added a wild rose apprentice. What a beautiful vision in words. I would very much like to meet “the potter” someday, but not yet, no, not yet.

“Sometimes, if you stand on the bottom rail of a bridge and lean over to watch the river slipping slowly away beneath you, you will suddenly know everything there is to be known.”~A.A. Milne

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David Knowles's avatar

Hi Lor. Us and our rivers. How do we ever get anything done?

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Patricia Keene's avatar

Such a wonderful piece to find upon waking!

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David Knowles's avatar

Hi again, Patricia, trusted reader :-) Happy to have been a part of the morning.

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Lesley's avatar

Fabulous as ever, David

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David Knowles's avatar

Generous as ever, Lesley :-)

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Susie Mawhinney's avatar

So many layers of loveliness you write David... too many to mention but it is of no surprise to me that you have such a deep understanding of the ancient language of limestone potters... monumental art indeed!

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David Knowles's avatar

Hi Susie, glad you found something to rummage down into :-) Your spring looks like a wonder. We are still just teetering on the edge and ,curiously for the Atlantic west coast, longing for rain. Everything rather out of balance but we try our best to hold to the slant.

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Kimberly Warner's avatar

Splendid and masterful David. I read this twice, and am already saving it for a delicious third. Layer upon sedimentary of meaning. I loved how you contrasted the ancient sculptor with her young, green apprentice. I could almost feel the turn of millennia as stone and water finally gave way to flora. A quickening of creation, how suddenly it sings everywhere at once.

So many shimmering lines. This one I loved so much I had to say it out loud! “As their swirl-pool water-wheels spin they are forming the bowls and cups where summer blackbirds bathe and a wren takes tea.”

And this one! “It takes a flash of madness to begin such work. The patience of lichen to pursue it.”

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David Knowles's avatar

Ha! I was thinking of you when I wrote that last one - you having just written a whole book :-)

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Kimberly Warner's avatar

Seriously though. This essay reads like a creation myth—an origin story etched into the bedrock of Earth’s formation.

I can’t stop thinking about it!

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Ralph Turner's avatar

Such wonderful words. Thank you.

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David Knowles's avatar

Kind, as always, Ralph. More from the Zeiss Nettar when you feel so inclined. I love the idea of the lens and the film not being quite co-planar. A tiny acute angle somewhere for the magic to slip in :-)

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Ralph Turner's avatar

Well, maybe I will have to let a little magic back in again at some point☺️ Thank you for your words.

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Diane Jackson's avatar

Absolutely beautiful. I love your writing.

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David Knowles's avatar

Thanks so much, for reading and replying. Makes a big difference :-)

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Mike Chitty's avatar

Enchanting! Thank you… I would like to share this with participants who are learning to work with the active imagination with your permission…

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Heather's avatar

Very tardy, I am, but better late than naughty, I suppose. I love the picture you paint in this essay. Maybe you’d like to check out a Canadian counterpart. Botanical Beach on Vancouver Island. https://bestever.guide/botanical-beach/ I haven’t had the mobility to hike in for many years but I remember going in my younger years. It was fascinating!

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David Knowles's avatar

Oh, that's a treat, Heather. Little round houses for sea urchins - just cosy :-)

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Heather's avatar

Isn’t it just? We’d spend hours there, or as long as the tide was low, it was fascinating!

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Lisa Hartman's avatar

Absolutely delicious! The Rose and the Potter. A beautiful mythical tale.

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David Knowles's avatar

Thanks, Lisa. Glad it came alive for you :-)

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Abhaya Thomas's avatar

You are truly elemental. This is exquisite.

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David Knowles's avatar

That is very kind of you. Thank you. I'll keep doing my best :-)

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Patricia Hanna's avatar

I savor these lovely words and the images they evoke. Thank you so much for being and sharing.

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David Knowles's avatar

That is very kind of you, Patricia. Thank you for giving my stories a home.

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Andrea Wilson's avatar

“Once, in the early days, her roots barely established, the rose suggested that the potter take the crazy old thing outside. Make room. Breathe a bit. New start. The air between them stayed curdled for days.”

I giggled at this last line. Ahh, the relationships between other-than-humans, we can only wonder at as we quietly notice their interactions.

Another beautifully written piece filled with deep noticing and a bit of humour. Thank you for sharing.

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David Knowles's avatar

Thanks, Andrea. Yes, as a man and being of a certain age, I do have to make sure not to be too earnest ;-)

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Linda Clark's avatar

This is wonderful. I have saved it to read again later. Thank you.

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David Knowles's avatar

Thanks again, Linda, for giving my words a home :-)

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