“A Blessing” ~ for rebecca with love
Flaxen Horse at Sunrise ©2012 Trey Ratcliff
Just off the highway to Rochester, Minnesota,
Twilight bounds softly forth on the grass.
And the eyes of those two Indian ponies
Darken with kindness.
They have come gladly out of the willows
To welcome my friend and me.
Wheat Horses ©2012 Trey Ratcliff
We step over the barbed wire into the pasture
Where they have been grazing all day, alone.
They ripple tensely, they can hardly contain their happiness
That we have come.
They bow shyly as wet swans. They love each other.
There is no loneliness like theirs.
The Golden Horse in Iceland ©2012 Trey Ratcliff
At home once more,
They begin munching the young tufts of spring in the darkness.
I would like to hold the slenderer one in my arms,
For she has walked over to me
And nuzzled my left hand.
Icelandic “Sheepdog” ©2012 Trey Ratcliff
She is black and white,
Her mane falls wild on her forehead,
And the light breeze moves me to caress her long ear
That is delicate as the skin over a girl’s wrist.
Horses at F/1.4 © Trey Ratcliff
Suddenly I realize
That if I stepped out of my body I would break
Into blossom.
James Wright, “A Blessing” from Above the River: The Complete Poems and Selected Prose. Copyright © 1990
For my dear friend rebecca Blessings, Peace and Light Abundant.
xoxo,
Noelle Renee
~~~
About the Photographer
Briefly… A Photography-Centric Bio
I’m best known for, well, I suppose, this site, StuckInCustoms.com, which has become the #1 Travel Photography Blog on the internet. On average, the photos get over a million views a week, including a few from my mom. My work first became popular after I had the honor of having the first HDR photo ever to hang in the Smithsonian. After that, I was fortunate enough to be represented by Getty (who I have since dumped because they take 80%), been featured on the BBC, ABC, FOX, CBS, and NBC, and have had numerous showings around the world.
I am known generally for the unique way in which I capture and process the world around me. I have my own “take” on HDR Photography, and you can see my free HDR Tutorial right here. I grew up blind in one eye and this might have changed the way I view the world. I don’t know. It’s hard to be objective about the way one’s brain was wired. My background is in computer science and math, so I bring an algorithm-like process to capturing the scene in such a way that it evokes memories in a palpable manner. Whatever that means.
Trey Ratcliff at http://www.StuckInCustoms.com - all images Creative Commons Noncommercial
My Personal Thanks to Trey Ratcliff for the beauty that he creates in this world and his generosity in allowing it to be shared in this way. Thank you, Trey!
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