The real constitution of each thing is accustomed to hide itself. —Heraclitus, frag. 123
Standing forth wondering what does this stone remember? How has the stone itself forgotten. Ogham
is an ancient Irish alphabet carved vertically on stones. This early
Christian practice traveled in the 5th-7th centuries to about a hundred
known places in western Wales, Cornwall and Scotland.Edge
notches and discrete incised lines inscribe memory, as memorial, as
boundary. This 6th century. Ogham stone (above) stands next to this
10th century Celtic Cross (below) cornered by the wall of St. Brynach's
Church in Nevern, western Wales.Looking on, thinking, we need Time to remember, but Time does not need us to forget.St Llawddog's churchyard, Cilgerran, Wales, an Ogham stone (right) stands with grave-slabs.Four
close-ups of the Cilgerran stone, weathered Ogham notchings are
inscribed and can be discerned along the edge. Below, on the dark face
of the stone, is a Latin inscription restating the Ogham inscription.The stone and the rose -- all is transitory, all in the now of presence. The
chalked markings present a re-remembering, perhaps a ritual of
forgiving. The Sacranus Stone stands in the entry way of the parish
church of St Thomas the Martyr in the village of St Dogmaels. The
church, on the grounds of the Norman abbey now in ruins, holds several
inscribed stones connected to an earlier 5th-century Christian
monastery.Inscribing is holy. Words are holy. The photograph is holy. All drumming down the halls of the moment called time.
NOTE
Photos:
May 2025, Western Wales. With gratitude to T&B and Jackson for
their spirited goodwill. The people and places ever kind and patient
with the curious and lucky traveler. Especially helpful, the mother of
the Vicar at St Brynach’s, and Sarah with her generous welcoming to St
Llawddog’s Church, as it happened, on the 80th anniversary celebration
of VE (Victory Europe) Day, May 8 2025, photo below. -DB
