Out of us all
That make rhymes,
Will you choose
Sometimes –
As the winds use
A crack in the wall
Or a drain,
Their joy or their pain
To whistle through –
Choose me,
You English words?
Edward Thomas, Words
The opening verse of a favourite poem by one of my favourite poets. Edward Thomas (who died young at the Battle of Arras in 1917) implores Words to choose him to bring them to life in a poem. You could say that is a form of false modesty; he suggests that he didn’t write his moving and powerful poems through any talent of his own but through the agency of these words which just ‘come to him’. But I see this more as a celebration of the wonders of words and of the English language in particular.
Choosing this poem to open this month’s Pick a Word challenge from Paula, I found myself wondering whether images ‘choose’ photographers. I think in a way they do, in the sense that any keen photographer will put themselves in the best position for potential pictures to choose them. They know where to go, where (and importantly) how to look. Just as Thomas knew where and how to find the right words, we practice how and where to find photographs.
Paula certainly knows how to find good words! This month she has given us an eclectic mix, some more easy to illustrate than others. I decided to choose images from my recent trip to the Philippines which I think meet her brief.
DENSE
A tangle of wires above the streets of Manila.
ILLUSION
The illusion of a brightly painted wall in the church of La Purisima Concepcion de la Virgen Maria in Baclayon on Bohol Island, created by sunlight through a stained glass window.
DUSK
El Nido on Palawan Island, just after sunset.
AUTHENTIC
Weaving the traditional abel cloth in Vigan on Luzon Island; these 100 year old looms have been used by four generations of family weavers.
BLOOMING
The Philippines are blessed with so many flowers, but from the many photos I took I’ve selected these frangipani flowers in the gardens of Bohol Beach Club, where we stayed while visiting the tarsiers.
I visited the Philippines in February & March 2025
6 Comments
Anne Sandler
Wow Sarah, amazing images. Dense is a frightening sight, and the rest capture life as lived in the Philippines.
Alison
Love your opening paragraphs Sarah and great choice of photos. I found dense and authentic to be the difficult ones
thehungrytravellers.blog
Familiar sights! Great shot of El Nido, Sarah.
restlessjo
I thought Portuguese wiring left a lot to be desired, Sarah, but these surpass any I’ve ever seen. The sunset is sublime and I love the weaving scene xx
Rose
You definitely have a talent for putting yourself in a position for photos to ‘choose’ you. Yikes, that image for ‘dense’ is something. ‘Illusion’ and ‘dusk’ are so pretty with their soft pink/blue/purples.
margaret21
Oh perfect! You and the Philippines made an excellent team here!