Running
to all that is new,
to all I have not yet seen,
attracted to the covered corners
the light can not carve comfort into…

Running
to all I don’t yet know,
to all I have not yet called by name,
haunted by the houses not yet home
and the whispers not yet known…

but what of where I have been,
what of the comfort once created,
what of the stories already told,
what of the lives I held once,
for a time,
in my hold?

Am I bold
to this running,
this longing to be always
up and leaving,
shunning reason
for this constant craving,
for another corner to caress creation,
to suppress starvation?

But hunger is not a harbour,
it is not where still waters rest, still.

It is the rest…

the current
carving chaos
into the crest, craving,
the waves
rushing up and over,
always and ever further,

from the shore.

All words and photographs by Damien B. Donnelly

HUNGER IS NOT A HARBOUR

/ deuxiemepeau / 27 Comments

27 thoughts on “HUNGER IS NOT A HARBOUR”

  2. Thank you for sharing yet another beutiful poem with us, dear Dami!
    I feel reminded of the reports I read of people walking the Camino de Santiago (an old pilgrimage route through France and Spain). – Life is a sacred journey, after all, regardeless of religious choices.
    Much love,
    Steffi

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  4. Reblogged this on Exploring Colour and commented:
    REBLOG : Right now I long to launch out on a new stage in my life’s journey; to not settle for the status quo. To any other restless souls out there I hope you enjoy reading this poem as much as I did.

    Reply

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  6. Beautiful! I think from out of chaos that is where the harbor lies. Due to the responsibilities I CHOOSE to finish, the yearning in my Soul to leave to change to create anew is SO loud. I must find a way to find my Harbor right within the “same” recreating to make different. OH this hunger ….. I haven’t felt this way in a very long time!! Change is upon me yet in order to find that change, I must find my Harbor.

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  7. I think part of “running to all that is new” for me, is trying new things that I haven’t thought within my capabilities before. Today I’ve written a poem. Perhaps I’ll publish it tmw night. In style its obviously influenced by you. The content is entirely my own but it uses both alliteration and word-shaping. Is that ok with you? Its about seasons and time, and north/south differences. After giving you a challenge I thought.. I really shouldn’t do that without being prepared to have a crack at it myself!!!

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    • I’m thrilled to see the results! Fantastic! Of course it’s okay with me, we get to inspire each other and that’s as good as it can get! I think this one for me was just was I was leaving Amsterdam and moving back to Paris, having been in London before that, Paris even before that and years before Ireland so there was this questioning of why don’t I stay put, what was the attraction of the next step, had I really carved my footprint into where I was before looking out for where the next footing was but in the end, I figured, like the water, like the tide, there is a constant movement and it doesn’t mean you loose anything, in fact you just gain more, learn more, witness more. Sometimes the movement slows to a gentle breeze, other times it’s a whirlwind where you can’t catch your breath. Looking forward to reading your poem my dear 🤗🤗

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      • When I need a boost I find “Hunger Is Not A Harbour” and re-read it again. Thank you for your poems and our conversations. Because of them I’ve been challenged (a lot) to See More, Think More, Create Connections, be More Real, communicate more Creatively, and to push myself to Go Further. Thanks!

      • I’ll be excited to put this together Dami! When I do, may I share some of the story behind it that you told me in your comment on this same post on 30 Aug 2018, about the places you’ve been, constant movement, etc. It adds so much to the words to know the background and you put it so well. Is that ok?

      • Good morning Liz, of course this is okay with me, I have total trust in your outlook and agree that a little backstory always helps understand the bigger picture.
        Monday morning already, I can already feel the festive season beginning to jingle somewhere in the not too distant tomorrow. Time never gives up, never tires, never wains. Metro doors have just closed and on we move… Take care

  9. Pingback: Hunger is Not a Harbour – Exploring Colour

  10. Just found this quote (on a post at a blog I’ve never visited before). Is this a quote you’ve come across Dami? André Paul Guillaume Gide, French author, said this about travel: “Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.”

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      • If you get time to look at my latest blog-posts you’ll see we’ve had a wonderful time recently (until rain set in for the last couple of days). I also wrote a poem at my new blog if you’re interested – Pop Goes The Cherry 🙂

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