A new friend, Steve Earle, sent me a couple of his poems the other day, he’s a really interesting guy who I’m learning about and I appreciate his writing.
One of the poems, called ‘The Sea’ reminded me of a W.B. Yeats favourite ‘The Lake Isle of Innisfree’. Steve’s poem is about a soulful returning to what he knows, to peace and a kind of innocence, a theme shared with ‘Innisfree’.
It’s one of Yeats’ earlier poems and as such, the critics don’t rate it as a work of real literary merit, yet it is beloved of the public and it is widely known and read, memorable, and taught in school. Yeats himself acknowledged that his style changed significantly as he matured and developed as a poet, as you will see in the quote from his autobiography below.
I’ve cherished this poem since childhood and it often springs to mind - even sometimes the parodied versions we chanted - things like:
“I must arise and go now, and go to Innisfree
I left my shoes and socks there, underneath a tree…”
I can feel Yeats’ turning in his grave right now…!!
What is represents is a retreat into peace and calm, from the hustle and bustle of city life - a return to simplicity and the opportunity for reflection. Finding an inner sanctum in which we can take refuge and rebuild our strength is something of great importance in these times of global chaos and concern, and I invite you to enjoy the poem and the pictures here, and find your own Inner Innisfree.
Then visit my events page here and decide to come along and find out how to Flourish in Challenging Times, so you’ll always have your place of peace to keep you calm and confident of your ability to thrive - no matter what.
I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree,
And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made;
Nine bean rows will I have there, a hive for the honey bee,
And live alone in the bee-loud glade.
buzzing bee
And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow,
Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings;
There midnight’s all a glimmer, and noon a purple glow,
And evening full of the linnet’s wings.
Glimmering midnight water
I will arise and go now, for always night and day
I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore;
While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements gray,
I hear it in the deep heart’s core.
The lake aglow
Nobel Prize winning Irish dramatist, author and poet
First published in ‘The National Observer’ 13th December 1890
Innisfree is in County Sligo in Ireland, and was a place where Yeats spent holidays with his family in his youth.
Yeats commented on “The Lake Isle of Innisfree” in a passage in his autobiography about his London days:
“I had still the ambition, formed in Sligo in my teens, of living in imitation of Thoreau on Innisfree, a little island in Lough Gill, and when walking through Fleet Street very homesick I heard a little tinkle of water and saw a fountain in a shop-window which balanced a little ball upon its jet, and began to remember lake water.
From the sudden remembrance came my poem “Innisfree,” my first lyric with anything in its rhythm of my own music. I had begun to loosen rhythm as an escape from rhetoric and from that emotion of the crowd that rhetoric brings, but I only understood vaguely and occasionally that I must for my special purpose use nothing but the common syntax. A couple of years later I could not have written that first line with its conventional archaism — “Arise and go” — nor the inversion of the last stanza.”
Last year after a long illness which depleted my immune system and left me tired and lethargic, I decided to dramatically improve my health and fitness. Knowing I wanted a radical way of doing so I chose to follow a raw eating programme. Quite a few people I spoke to were worried that I was going to be consuming raw meat, existing on sticks of celery and wondered how I’d manage.
It was finding a book called Spiritual Nutrition by Gabriel Cousens that triggered me into taking action, and from this I devised my own programme which I followed for three months. During this time I dropped over two stone (28 pounds, 13 kilos) and within two weeks was feeling full of energy and brimming with life.
They say you shouldn’t suddenly go completely raw, that you should do it in increments, but I’m a bit ‘gung ho’ when it comes to these things and I went from a fully fledged carnivore to raw vegan in one fell swoop - with no side effects or challenges other than a rapid detox that meant I needed to stay close to the bathroom for a few days, as I shed what seemed like gallons of water!
I followed the programme until I went to India, where it was more difficult to stay raw, and then when I came home and it was November and cold and dark, I found it harder to stay with it, and by Christmas had started eating meat again. I still yearned for the supremely energetic and healthy way I felt on the raw plan, and recently decided to adopt it again, after I had another bout of the chest infection that laid me low for so long in 2007 and 2008.
Because ”Raw’ had been on my radar for a couple of years, I’d been following some of the UK and US leading lights in the field. More about them in a later post…..
Someone who cropped up a few times, and who was referred to me by my friend Karin Ridgers, of Veggie Vision fame, was Russell James, aka The Raw Chef.
Yesterday I met Russell for the first time, at one of his dinner party experiences. We spent the day watching and helping Russell (well, a little bit!) prepare a mouthwatering lunch and dinner.
Christine Miller watches Raw Chef Russell James at work
All the while he was explaining the whys and wherefores of creating top class raw food, and the end results were astonishing. Really fabulous food prepared and served with style that would put many leading restaurants to shame….
The pics will give you an idea of the mouthwatering treats we enjoyed, ranging from canapés to caramelised onion and tomato tarts to lasagne and what for me was the pièce de resistance… chocolate torte with ginger cream and strawberry sauce…you’d never know this was raw, non-dairy, non-wheat, gluten-free, no sugar, pure organic food packed with nourishment for the body and soul…..heaven.
Christine Miller from ReSource enjoys Russell James's canapes
ReSource loves Russell's Tomato and Onion Tart
Heaven on a plate - favourite raw dish so far
In conversation with my friend Tony Buzan who is currently in Singapore, it emerges that he is missing the English Spring with its flowers and freshness, and the variety that our climate here in the UK offers.
Much as the tropical weather of Singapore is enticing, and the delights of the Far East are unquestioned, we recalled times together when we had made a point of detouring for the sole purpose of seeing the daffodils in London’s St James’ Park, a somewhat ‘Wordsworthian’ experience… and he asked me if the bluebells were out now…..
Bluebells in April
That prompted me to take some photos of my garden whilst the said bluebells are indeed in bloom, along with Forget-me-Nots, and various other delights which are looking very fresh and delicious at present.
It’s so easy to get immersed in the less beautiful aspects of life, especially when you live in the city, to be overtaken by our daily activities and concerns, and forget to value and be grateful for the simple pleasure that comes from appreciating our environment and the inspiring moments that nature can offer.
For my travelling absent friend - some refreshing moments in an English garden…..and thank you for re-minding me to acknowledge Nature’s blessings …
'Potentilla' in full bloom
Above is one of my favourite corners of the garden….it used to be a ‘hide and seek’ game hot spot when the kids were little…..now it’s providing the same function for squirrels and this year a family of blackbirds, plus the usual robins and great tits, and even a thrush.
Bluebells, forget-me-nots, bergenia, euphorbia - Spring 2009
This sheltered patch amongst the flowers is my cat’s favourite hideout for bird spotting - she’s given up on trying to catch them…
Tree peony 2009
The tree peony gives a brief but stunning splash of colour, and produces an abundance of massive seed pods which not only feed the wildlife and but also offers a way for me to please friends who admire the plant with a gift of seedlings for their own gardens.
