A statue of you

Gold cherry

By celticman

Tue, 07 Jan 2025
  • 349 reads
25 comments
 

A statue bright as a new grave

Thick and unquick stone

The best laid to rest

Glory, glory, glory!

 

Gene ology drowned in unbright light

Framed in a flicker of fame

A lost tribe

Glory, glory, glory!

 

Marble gaze ground of bloodless joy

Desolation of you as a boy

Ploughed from a plinth

Gone.

Certificate U
Poem
Philosophy

Comments

Submitted by Turlough on

Rory's glory?

Turlough

Submitted by celticman on

It might be Turlough, if I knew who Rory was. I was thinking more of statues in general. Wasted space. 

 

Submitted by Turlough on

A new statue of Rory Gallagher went up in Belfast a few days ago. He's got two now. The other one's in Ballyshannon. 

Turlough

Submitted by celticman on

No idea who that  is Turlough. Here's hoping the statute of me I'm making out the back lasts longer than my infamy. 

 

Submitted by Turlough on

Jimmy Hendrix was once asked how it feels to be the best guitar player in the world. He replied - ask Rory Gallagher.

He was another one who died too early, in 1995 at the age of 47, as a consequence of wrongly prescribed drugs for the various illnesses he had. He was born in Donegal and he's buried somewhere in Cork. 

Turlough

Submitted by Di_Hard on

Today's gold cherries go to this stark and beautiful poem by Celticman, which you will want to read again, and again. Please share, so others can, too

image is from here -https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Francesco_camilliani_(attr.),_giovane_nudo,_04.jpg
please change for one that matches better, if you have one in mind

 

Submitted by Insertponceyfre... on

They might be a waste of space, but some of them are very beautiful, especially as they crumble away, or get swallowed up by brambles. Not all though, and I suppose they can be a reminder of past evils. Anyway, I enjoyed this - congratulations on the golden cherries. Rory Gallagher was a musician, famous in the seventies I think?

 

Submitted by celticman on

I'm indifferent to statues insert. I accept they are works of art. but the thing, the man or woman they commemortate (I was thinking of Sir Alex Ferguson here) will soon by forgotten. Much like Rory Gallacher. Then again we had a few statues. The Virgin Mary, obviously, on the mantelpiece. She lost her head. Then Jesus on the other side to balance things out. I think there was a metallic Joseph. Impossible to break.  action men and a few woman, plastic, mainly. 

 

Submitted by Di_Hard on

Argh! NOT a good choice of photo! Is it too late to change photos now? there's this one :
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sir_Alex_-_geograph.org.uk_-_324...

 

Submitted by Kris on

Of words.....

I'd bet the poem last longer than the stone in the picture, plinth & all.... certainly more eyes will read, relate to it, and gaze upon it over time here in the online cloud than the stone figure....(nicely done) yes

p.s... I think thats the 1st poem I've read from you Celt....unless I blurred out, forgot, or skipped it in your collection... hmmm

 

Submitted by celticman on

cheer Kris, I tend to stick to prose for obvious reasons. Some poetry  sometimes slips through. 

 

Submitted by Caldwell on

"Glory Glory Gone" is the title of a story about Tottenham Hotspurs in the 1970s, so, interestingly, you should relate it to Sir Alex. I have little interest in the great game, so it means little to me either way, but I am a big fan of your writing. Nice work Sir Celticman.

 

Submitted by Rhiannonw on

Varying reaons they are made can be soon forgotten, but what I dislike really is those weird shaped sculptures that are supposed to depict something. It may tell you what, but the reasoning can still be a mystery. Skill in workmanship can be appreciated, but I think I prefer the scenes and animals in stone or carved out of dead tree trunks which have something of the attractiveness of the reality. Rhiannon

 

Submitted by celticman on

I didn't know that about Tottenham (waiting for them to pull the plug on Postecoglou). Thanks for reading. I'm with you on that one Rhiannon. I'm all for innovation and conservation. 

 

Submitted by Turlough on

I'm not fond of the statues of great noblemen or women, especially those sitting on horseback with feathers in their hats... though the strategic positioning of a traffic cone has been known to cheer them up. And some look a bit tacky too... the very new one of Rory Gallagher in Belfast isn't very good in my opinion. He deserves better, or better still, none at all. Showing respects poorly is disrespectful.

I also can't see the point of naming airports, railway stations, sports stadiums, bridges and ships after famous people. I expect that there'll one day be an HMS Ant & Dec.

But I do like sculptures that are pertinent to local history or folklore. I think they add to the story of whatever it was that happened there. I have a Bulgarian friend whose father was a sculptor and in his day crafted many large stone sculptures, mostly of poets, authors and artists. The monument to Todor Kableshkov, one of the leaders of the uprising against Ottoman occupation, is a work of great skill and one of the most famous sculptures in Bulgaria. It's positioned in the town of Koprivshtitsa by the Bridge of the First Shot, where the uprising began.

I'm glad I'm not famous. I'd hate one of me.

Turlough

Submitted by celticman on

There's a few statues of me lying around somewhere. They've came to resemble very large rocks, but I don't mind. A statute of Jimmy Johnson outside Parkhead is awful. I guess what you're saying is about quality. We're agreed on that. Statutes of mass murderers on horseback doesn't quite do it for me. They are best forgotten. 

 

Submitted by marandina on

Funnily enough..I thought this might be about AF. I kinda like statues but then I love history and consider them important artifacts that tell a story. It's a relief that the trend of desecrating them is over. Airbrushing the past is a crime. Any reference to Stalin including monuments and place names etc were removed in Russia after his death. Reminders of bad things are every bit as valid as the good things. Glory, glory?

 

Submitted by celticman on

ah, good guess marindina. I guess grand statues like those in Rio or Mount Rushmore are epic. Most are emm OKish. Getting money to make a statue about a rent-striker in the 1930s seems to me tokenism.  

 

Submitted by Jane Hyphen on

I suppose they served a different purpose in the past, don't forget about the big man of our time, glory glory glory as you say. All that marble or stone, ploughed and carved and honed with greater toil than the glorified subject himself.

They had a bit of a renaissance in Birmingham in the 90s with mixed success, I'm thinking of the hideous polyresin 'Forward' statue that a young boy set on fire and destroyed. Can you imagine a statue of Trump? Those days are surely gone.

 

Submitted by Di_Hard on

I can imagine it all too easily! Possibly (fool's) gold, definitely glowing. But Musk's will be bigger, he will make his face in the sky with satellites to look like stars

 

Submitted by Kris on

Actually, thats a real discussion with some of Trump's loyal worshipers, #Mount Rushmore... so says a friend of mine that runs campaigns & raises $ for state governors (Democrats).... Ref: Di_Hard's comment... Elon, after smok'n a joint & do'n another dose of Ketamine, will rocket a crew up and re-landscape the moon in his image with a Moon a Largo golf course so we all have to look at.... on the other side of the coin here, Wall Street #Bond Holders & Credit Market makers.... are already whispering to him 'Dont get high on your own supply'.... what goes up, comes down.... 

 

Submitted by Di_Hard on

Rebranding Heaven big time hubris even for him!!!

 

Submitted by Jane Hyphen on

surprise He probably will, that would be very fitting.

 

Submitted by Di_Hard on

statues don't have to be cold and purposeless :
https://www.aboutstockholm.info/post/about-margaretha-krooks-heated-statue

 

Submitted by Insertponceyfre... on

I've actually just thought of a statue which I find incredibly moving I think it's important to keep these things in people's memory - not just in memory, but to make sure it doesn't happen again. Outside Liverpool Street station - it's to commemorate the kindertransport. If anyone of you find yourselves in the area you should visit