(i carry it in my heart)
I’m rather a fan of a cliché – I always feel that for something to become one it has to be embraced by many and that probably means it has some sense stitched into it’s lining. One such chestnut is that ‘home is where the heart is’. Most would not argue with this. But I would argue that home is IN the heart.
I’ve inferred before that I have moved often and it is true that the moving is not over yet. At the moment I am in the USA and I am far from my mother and from my daughters. Before coming here for this year, I was mostly separate from my husband. And from my mother and from my daughters. This year I have him, not them. When I am in Britain I have them, not him. My father is dead. So he is not any of my here’s at all.
But since they are all carried safely in my heart, I can be home wherever I am and I have learned the trick.
This shot was taken a stones throw from the place I’ve been nesting in Massachusetts – it’s a local path that The Bean and I walk often with or without HB2. It’s a place I sat with my youngest daughter just a few short weeks ago when she came to visit in the high humming heat of Summer’s end and now as Fall falls into place in this place in New England and I am favoured with an understanding of what all the fuss is about, the colours are emerging in the most brazen fashion and stalking my breath and stealing it away effortlessly whichever way I turn. My father loved trees and would have loved to be able to just wander around New England filling his heart with the wonder of Mother Nature’s audacious exhibition. So from his home in my heart, I watch this glorious Autumn unfold and I remind myself just how fortunate I am. To have this perfect vision on my doorstep and to have him in my heart.
I offer the picture in response to the Weekly Photo Challenge titled Local – here is the gallery of all the other captivating captures
PS: If you look closely at the foot of the red-hot tree you will see a pile of sticks. Or not. It’s a beaver lodge – home to a colony of beavers that I have been delighted to spot from time to time busying about their industrious beaver life, whilst I live in their locale.
And for all those I carry in my heart, but particularly for my husband – here is the poem from which I plucked the title of this piece. It’s a little luxury for me to be local to the place where e e cummings was born for I have loved him for as long as I can remember …. ‘beautiful you are my world’
i carry your heart
e e cummings
i carry your heart with me (i carry it in
my heart) i am never without it (anywhere
i go you go, my dear; and whatever is done
by only me is your doing, my darling)
i fear
no fate (for you are my fate, my sweet) i want
no world (for beautiful you are my world, my true)
and it’s you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you
here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life; which grows
higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that’s keeping the stars apart
Cliches are perhaps maligned more than they ought to be. Here’s a book on the subject by the excellent lexicographer Orin Hargraves.
https://smile.amazon.com/Its-Been-Said-Before-Cliches-ebook/dp/B00KR9S1CS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1476737247&sr=8-1&keywords=orin+hargraves+said+before
Thank you – I shall order it in honour of just having renewed my Amazon Prime …. it sounds right up my (local) street 😉
Beautiful Osyth. Thank you for bringing us to this special place. You are right, home is where our hearts are 🙂
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Maria – we both know what it is to be nomadic and to love the place we are in!
E. E. Cummings and a New England autumn…. Your post is beautifully wrought.
Thank you Bernadette – I’m so glad you like it and unsurprised that you, of all people got to the heart of what I was trying to achieve ❤️
Love the place you’re in
Love the one you’re with
Terrible grammar but the sentiment prevails.
The grammar is entirely acceptable given that cummings was known for playing with accepted form and basically rebelling against the confines of punctuation and grammar as we know them! Thank you – that is a lovely comment xx
Beautiful sentiment, beautiful photo, beautiful ee cummings poetry, beautiful piece of writing❣
Thank you so much … that means a great deal to me 😊
beautiful…….
Thank you so much 😊
Goose shivery reading the poem. Magnificent colours in the water and the trees. Home is where you make it, or take it, or share it. Glad you have yours with you always.
It’s one of my favourite poems …. I’m unsurprised it affected you thus. I think there are always two roads to take in life – the one that feels you have been done to or the one that finds the purpose in the way things are. By managing to reconcile my portable life over many years, I realised that what was important was always with me …. therefore I feel less victimised by having to move so often 😊
That is a great path to take Osyth. Recognising the power we hold within ourselves, to choose how we feel, as often as we can, makes lifes bumps a little less so.
I’m glad you agree …. you are one who knows how cruel life can be so that doubles my resolve 🙂
Beautiful piece of thoughtful writing O. and perfect poem to accompany. Thank you. Enjoy the Fall but don’t forget to come back to us in France when you can.
I’ll be back in France for the first half of next year and before that for a couple of weeks in December finding yet another place to live for the sabbatical in Grenoble. I’m hugging myself with glee and anticipation 😁
So true. I suspect it’s who and what we carry in our hearts that makes us who we are. Lovely post
I’m certain that is true Lady Posh …. I’m so glad you enjoyed the post 😁
the wonder that keeps the stars apart…
that gave me goosebumps, honestly.
It is one of my favourite poems and for good reason … it is absolutely exquisite and it speaks straight to the heart if the heart is open — I’m unsurprised, therefore that you reacted 😊
even more reason to finally get a little notebook!
You brought tears to my eyes. My father died just before we moved to this house in France. I would so love to have walked the garden with him, I can still hear him telling me what I should be doing, I so want to ask his advice. We too have moved a lot, very often I would spend all summer apart from my husband as I stayed at home with the children, I learnt that home is wherever my family are.
I’m so sorry you lost your father. I miss mine every day and acutely when I am outside gardening or walking. In France too … he would have been popping over ALL the time on a tenuous excuse. I crave the moment when I settle in my forever house but for now I have to be as you were once and it is important for me to find the purpose in the way things are and to hold that purpose close to my heart too. Xx
There is nothing so fine as the smell of pine. Nothing so fresh as the colors of fall. Nothing so brisk as a cool breeze through the trees. Nothing more like home than New England.
That should be the advertising slogan for New England – brilliantly written Guy Weird! England is very pretty in Autumn, my home in France is beautiful but New England is breathtaking and I really feel privileged to have been here to witness it ….
They say everyone has at least one book in them, mine will be about Maine.
As it should be because Maine is IN your heart wherever you travel …. a book written from the heart will capture the hearts of many 💕
What a beautiful post! I agree with your sentiments.
Thank you Nadia …. I’m glad you enjoyed it and of course I am glad that we concur!
“home is IN the heart” – absolutely right – perhaps a lot of moves and separations are necessary to come to this
An old friend of mine says ‘find the purpose in the way things are’ and it is the sagest of advice. Thank you Derrick.
Beautiful and just loved your words “Home is in the Heart”, Osyth. Thank you for bringing us to this awesome place. Lovely post.
Thank you so much … it is my pleasure to share it and I am glad my words struck your heart ❤️
Oh yes completely. Thanks
Fall colours are something we missed when we lived in Paris. The trees do change colours in Europe but you don’t get the dazzling red and orange that seem to set the forest in fire. It is truly a sight to see at least once in your lifetime…
So true. Europe is beautiful in Autumn but New England and of course Canada are breathtaking. I am fortunate to have witnessed it and hope (being a greedy gal) that I will be able to see it all again at least once in my lifetime 😊
I certainly hope so for you…it is indeed breathtaking. We have lots of pictures coming up on our blog on fall colours…it will be another way for you to experience the colours. I truly love that season in Eastern Canada…
I will SO look forward to your pictures – I know I will love them!
The ones you love are always with you.
They are
What a gorgeous photo! Yes we carry home with us. xoxo
Thank you Lynn … my myopic point and shoot technique occasionally works! ❤️
haha very nice!
Beautiful photo, lovely words and a generous heart. I absolutely enjoyed this post Osyth, thank you for starting my day off right.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Terry – it means a lot to me if you get pleasure from something I have written. Many hugs from New England
Beautiful!! Loved the read, loved the poem and amazing photograph. It’s very true home is where our hearts are.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it …. this makes me happy 😊
Gorgeous photo, beautiful poem, wonderful heartfelt post – close to mine own heart…….atm I have my mother and girls, but not my Monsieur le Frog or my lovely apartment.
Still up to my neck in 3 courses, so no time to post any new blogs – I have oodles of your posts saved and managed to read this one on the bus this morning…..to quote Diana Ross and the Supremes ‘Some day we’ll be together’
Not all work and no play – I am going to see the original Four Tops and Temptations on the Echo Arena on Friday.
Much love
Lindy xx
So long as you are in one piece my Soul Sista then I’m content. I knew if you saw this you would relate to it … and I’m beyond happy that you enjoyed it. All shall be well and all shall be in one piece in its own time for us both. Meanwhile, well meanwhile bop a good boogie at the Arena on Friday! Much love back and a special New England hug for good measure xx
Ha yes – it is a case of ‘touching base’ when I can – I have found the time to make a ‘mood board’ for the house that we do not yet have, and even if/when we do, we will be at least four years off referring to a mood board.
Think of the train track across the Alps before they had a train…….think you’d like my mood board for the Rapunzel house (point blank refuse to call it le Pigionier’……)
Gros bisous – well jel you amongst all those gorgeous trees – enjoy xxx
Four years will pass in a trice Rapunzel and you will become the decorating fairy and be loving it. Our fripperie in Marcoles gets worse by the minute (I’ll be writing about it again soon as I rev up to return to France in December) but I still have a book devoted to swatches and pictures and things I’ve picked up that I just know will be gorgeous in it. I even caught Two Brains eyeing a bed in Crate and Barrel on Saturday which he whistfully (and correctly) announced would be perfect for our 2nd floor nook …. the trees are gorgeous, however the weather forecasters told me today would be sunny and 80 degrees and infact its murky and 50 – you win some, you lose some xxx
Ha ha ha. I have been ripping wallpaper samples at the local Dunelm and have practically planned the garden with the help of Monty Don and Alan Titchmarsh – I am thinking of writing to the BBC and see if they want to send Monty on a mission (very much the woodcutter in Snow White, don’t you think – Alan is more like ‘Buttons’ and would irritate me. My very very good French friend, Annie, who I lived with for five months in Lille but now lives in Berlin, just rang me to say that there is to be a big party for family and close friends for her 50th next August – in Burgundy, about 30 mns from Maison Grimm.She fell in love with the region when driving from Berlin to Marseille last summer and said that she would like to retire there – she had no idea bout the house – I told her of course. She is hilarious and just told me, I had to fire the guy that I had working with me, I jut told him, I’m sorry you have to go as I cannot stand you any more – she cracks me up.
I would expect murky and 50 this time of year (what is that n centigrade?)
Monsieur le Frog is due over Saturday morning for a long weekend – I am counting the hours – literally xxx
Oh my! I love the sound of your friend Annie …. right up my street. I’ll fight you for Monty but only if the consolation prize is not Alan. I agree – Snow White woodcutter vs Buttons (genius descriptors, my friend). OK so 50 is 10 in real money but we had a mighty storm on Friday night followed by torrential rain on Saturday and are now up to the giddying heights of 15 in your money 59 in ours with bright cloudless blue skies. YOu win some, you lose some – aint that the truth! Enjoy M. le Frog when he arrives (I gather you won’t need much prompting) these long distance relationships are good for one thing only – les retrouvailles! xxx
Ha ha yes, I’m like a teenager lol.
As I was typing, I was thinking that you would love Annie, we had such fun when I lived with her and my lovely boys who I was employed to teach English too, but ended up as Lindy McPhee (what they called me)
They both made me cry at the wedding – Seb – now aged 15, by hugging me after the ceremony and saying in my ear ‘Tu es Magnifique’ (ma…..nee…..FEEK) and Greg, now 18 and a little drunk, said ‘je t’aime, meme quand je t’ai dit “je te deteste”, je t’amais, parce-que tous que tu as fait c’etait pour moi. Glorious here in the Pool atm – all set to change at the weekend – typical xx
Oh what gorgeous boys! Lindy McPhee you did yourself proud there! My HB2 always says when we’ve been apart …. if it rains it means we can’t go outside … lucky me 😉 xx
Just what I was thinking…..
Just thought, we could both write to Monty the woodcutter and he could do both our gardens – this could be the start of a series……..
I’m very up for this …. International Garden Warrior? xx
Home really is where the heart is – as most expats know. Thank goodness for modern planes. My aunts used to visit from the US to UK every 7 or so years. Your tree is beautiful and I am envious of your beavers although we have nutria. K x
It is and expats understand it better than any. My mother refuses to travel now although she did renew her passport in August when my brother had a near fatal accident in Bangkok. Now that he is healing she is defaulted to ‘no’ again! Here, Fall is pretty gorgeous although Vermont at the end of last month when we visited took the cookie. My beavers are little beauties but now I want to meet nutria too (I had no idea!). xx
Our nutria are unwanted visitors from Latin America who were brought for the fur trade back in the day. They look like tiny Coypu (they are about the size of a cat). Every so often our snobby city gathers them up and puts them into less salubrious ponds. 😸
Hahaha! I love it …. illegal immigrant coypus!!! 😂
I can only add my voice to all that has already been said. Thank you for this post.
Thank you so much Su. I’m so glad you enjoyed it …. that poem is one of my favourites and says it far better than I ever can 🙂
Lovely post!
Thank you so much Keli …. your comment is really appreciated and i am so glad you enjoyed the post.
Striking… the tree, your heart… the home you’ve made of it! Lucky folk who live there!
It is beautiful, that is true. I like sharing it with the beavers and the birds and the raccoons and the chipmunks, the little red squirrels the groundhog that lives under the shed and even the skunk. Next month I’m off again and won’t return until next summer, if at all. Make the most of what we have, find the purpose in the way things are and be very grateful for lovely followers like you, say I!
Gosh… you bring a lump… thank you friend! I shall raise a glass of French red… to you, soon!
À votre santé … I’ll do the same when evening falls – for now you have to make do with me raising my cuppa ☕️
And yours!! Tea or a drop of red… or whatever! To LIFE!! 😉
Such a peaceful place, and just a stone throw away from where you live. As I looked into the image my whole body slowed down. The pattern in the water moving through me. The fiery magnificent autumn leaves of New England offering a final hoorah before floating to the ground and carpeting the landscape. And the beavers who are such a delight to watch as they go around laboriously reshaping their environment.
This seems like a soothing place to rest and gently cradle your loved ones in your heart. 🙏
Thank you for this lovely comment. I find the place to be a haven of peace where I can let my mind rest. I am glad it had the same effect on you. 🙏🏼
Beautiful photo and poem. Thank you for such an inspiring post. 🙂
Thank you. The poem is an all time favourite – I’m glad my post hit the right spot with you 😊
A beautiful and moving post Osyth, made even more so with the addition of the words of e e cummings. I should add that my cliche is Home is where the Art is 🙂
I like your cliche – very apt indeed. Thank you for your kind words about this little piece. It means a lot, as you know.
I would love to be able to do that, bringing home with me, it would put an end to a lot of my problems. I haven’t felt “home” for a long time… Sometimes I get it in Dublin, Finistere and even Donegal… As I parked the car in the driveway yesterday, in the longest place I have ever lived… Nope, nothing…
Hmmm – it took me an awfully long time here and I still crave Cantal. And Oxford at some level too. But I’ve sort of made the adjustment (just in time to leave again next month) …. suddenly I have U2 in my head ‘Still havent found what I’m looking for’ … perhaps pertinent to you? Certainly it has been for me ….
I particularly loved this bit, “Home is in the heart.” Agreed. It’s within us itself. You’ve put it all in perspective. Bravo! :))
Thank you! And you have hit the heart of what I was trying to say …. home is where the heart is, sure but really it is in all of our hearts – the bricks and mortar and view and neighbours and familiarity of a place are nothing without that which we keep safely stored in our centre 😊
I’ve loved this poem since my high-school years… 🙂 the ancient Romans used to say:”ubi bene, ubi patria!” = homeland is where you feel good… otherwise, I guess I figure out your feelings & emotions, as I’ve been a global citizen for decades… <3 being here is also being away from somewhere else where a part of our heart has remained…
* * *
eh oui, comme disent nos compatriotes: on ne peut être au four et au moulin en même temps… 🙂 take care & my very best…
It is absolutely no surprise to me that you have loved this poem since girlhood. You and I share a great love of literature and are also fortunate to understand what great love means. Further, I have always believed we have some sort of a kindred spirit. Perhaps it is in some way due to being less rooted to a birthplace but more to love and a spirit that is open to what the world offers.
désolée for the late reply, but… better later than never or not at all! 🙂
* * *
yep, you’re right: we do have plenty of “stuff” in common… and then again, quoting Voltaire:”les grands et beaux esprits se rencontrent…” 😉
* * *
lots of HHH = huge heartfelt hugs & c u asap – here or there… 😉
Straight back at you – the HHH and of course Voltaire had it right! We will meet one side or the other or even both. It’s a must x
Oh my, the poem brought tears to my eyes….I miss my kids so much…and to know I will never get to argue with my mother again…well, I miss her everyday….I agree….home is in our hearts…I carry many close so I can reach out and feel them often…..I do miss the change of seasons….here in the desert, the only reason you know its a change of season is the intensity of the sun….lovely post….xxkat
Thank you dearest Kat – you truly are a kindred sister of mine …. next year, if they let me back in, I want you to find a way to come up to Salem with me … and you know I’m invading your desert come sun or come sun!! Xx
xxxnot sure Salem would be ready for both of us….LOL Mayhem at large!!!!
Exactly – that is the point and if I have to drive to New Mexico and fetch you we ARE doing this!!!! Lots of love from Falling New England 🍂
Arizona is where I am on the border of California…..LOL however New Mexico is a really fun state too!!!
I stand corrected and blushing at my faux pas! So I’ll come to Arizona (turns out The Brain has an observatory there btw which makes it all much easier) and kidnap you to Salem for soul-sista antics of the highest order 🎃
I bet his observatory is in Tucson….they have several up on a mountain….Lemmon mountain I think…just a guess….Salem is on my bucket list…I could fly up an meet you for a few days….sounds like fun…
Bucket lists are for the fulfilling so that’s a promise. The observatory – Ill check when he lands in Taipei … who knows where the boffins are but I know there is an inordinate amount of money wasted on their princely needs 😉
What a spectacular photo capturing the beauty of Autumn! I love trees and inherited this from my mum, who visited New England to experience those beautiful trees…
And… what a beautiful poem… You’re husband is lucky! xx
I hope you get the opportunity one day …. it is quite amazing if you love trees and you love Autumn – I’m glad your mum had the chance 🍁. That poem is a beauty …. I was glad to find a place for it here. And of course my husband is extremely lucky 😂 xx
Yes – it’s on my ‘bucket list’ of places to visit one day! A lovely poem and definitely a lucky hubby! xx
I had missed your big spurt in posting and Autumn with all its splendour on your blog. Thank you for sharing the corner of your world with all of us. That French true story us still lingering in my mind. . . I may be slightly caught up. 🙂
This was the day I had my cataract surgery (10/28/16) then was with my youngest daughter and we were up at Mom’s in Cleveland. . .life is always in full tilt! xo
I hope the cataract surgery was successful and your sight is eagle-like once more! My husband has had the surgery twice, my mother once and found it liberating!
A wonderful post and very beautiful pics! And thank you so much for sharing that amazing piece of poetry, I didn´t know it before but now I wil carry it in my heart, too 😉
It is absolutely one of my favourites ever – deseving of being carried in many hearts.
I couldn´t agree more! 🙂
Beautifull colors!
Thank you so much ….. it is easy to take pictures when nature does all the work for you! 🍂 🍃 🍂
Many thanks for linking my post … it is hugely appreciated 😊