One of the pastimes my husband and I enjoy during this lockdown is going through old photographs of places we visited.
On a beautiful day in December 2019 we drove to the small fishing village of Findochty on the Moray Coast. We chatted with some friendly local people, walked around with our dogs and took a few photographs. It was the first time we had come here in Winter and we loved the beauty of the light in the cold air. I wrote a few poems while we were there, including this one.
Most of the sailing boats are on the quayside, masts folded. Fresh paintwork glitters in the morning sun. There is still the odd ice patch, in the shadows of the harbour. A small dog slips as he scampers up the brae.
watching over us
a seated fisherman
full of stories
my eyes begin to wander
past the lighthouse, out to sea
© Xenia Tran
Ribbons, Winter 2020: Volume 16, Number 1
Wishing you all a blessed Sunday and a peaceful week ahead,
with love from Xenia xxx
Photographs by Xenia Tran, edited in lr.
Camera: Canon Powershot SX60 HS, Settings: f/4 – 1/640 s – ISO 160, f/4.5 – 1/1000 s – ISO 200 and f/5 – 1/1000 s – ISO 160.
Lens-Artists Weekly Photo Challenge #97: Pastimes
dVerse Poets MTN: 5-Line Japanese Poetic Forms
A further selection of recent publications in online and print journals can be found here:
Tranature 
It looks like a wonderful place to visit and what a beautiful day you had 💚Wishing you all a wonderful rest of the day 🤗🐕💖xxx
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Thank you so much for your kind words dear Cathy, it was a beautiful day and very peaceful 💜 A wonderful rest of the day to you too from all of us here 🤗💖🐕 xxx
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Thank you 🤗🐕💖xxx
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Excellent images for the challenge! It’s so nice to have pictures to look back on, to remind us of places we’ve visited and you’ve captured these views beautifully.
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Thank you so much for your kind words dear Sue and for hosting this lovely challenge 🧡
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I can see why she chose to publish this one Xenia, it’s truly beautiful
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Thank you so much for your kind words dear Tina 🧡 xxx
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Lovely. I love piers….combination of sea, boats and lovely light
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Thank you so much for your kind words dear Karina 🧡 xxx
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Beautiful light and color. Reminds me of Maine in the winter.
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Thank you kindly dear Laurie, I love your winter images of Maine and the light looks very similar 💙 xxx
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Tranquil.
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Thank you kindly dear John 🙂
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I, too, enjoyed the photo tour of the places we have traveled.
Beautiful photos, Xenia. 💖xxx
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Thank you so much for your kind words dear Amy 💖 xxx
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Thank you for your amazing photos and words. I miss the sea.
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Thank you so much for your kind words dear Ali, hope you’ll be able to walk by the sea again before too long 💜 xxx
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the photos are great – and when I read your poem – I felt like I was with you as the “out to sea” line came
you really brought us there with the blue skies and words
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Thank you so much for your kind words dear Yvette, so glad you enjoyed it too 💜
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Serenely calm, Xenia!
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Thank you kindly dear Ann-Christine! 💜 xxx
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Beautifully written, Xenia, and congratulations on appearing in Ribbons! Thank you for sharing this with us over at dVerse! I love how you portray the tranquility of the scene with such evocative imagery. Your tanka complements your prose and extends the experience perfectly!
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Thank you so much for your kind words dear Frank and for hosting this lovely prompt tonight, it’s a pleasure to share! 🤗💖 xxx
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I thoroughly enjoyed your tanka prose, Xenia, and love the photos of Findochty. I felt like I was there. It’s refreshing to read about a winter walk and ‘the beauty of the light in the cold air’ when it has been a warm day here. I’m a fan of harbours and remember visiting a little one on the east coast of Scotland not far from Aberdeen, many years ago. Your description of the sailing boats on the quayside with their masts folded reminded me of that trip, and I love the close detail of the small dog scampering up the brae. The seated fisherman is impressive- I’m glad you included him in the tanka, and I love the way you direct my gaze out to sea with the final lines.
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Thank you so much for your kind words dear Kim and for walking around the harbour with us here. The light on the East coast is beautiful on a Winter’s morning and so lovely to hear it brought back memories of your own trip to this corner 🧡 xxx
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I love your introduction to set the stage for your poem. The way you shift perspective, first fully in the moment of the scene, then your eyes lift “past the lighthouse out to sea” is magical.
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Thank you so much for your kind words dear Lisa, so glad I could share this moment with you xxx
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Your sharing is very welcomed.
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Sounds like such a lovely day. A good clear winter day can be almost as good as a summer one if you wrap up warm enough.
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Thank you kindly dear Carole, we’re happy to wrap up warm for days like these 💜
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A beautiful spot! Nicely done! Perhaps his eyes are also longing for the sea!
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Thank you kindly dear Dwight, it truly felt as if he was longing for the sea when I saw him sitting there 🙂
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I can easily see that being the case!
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Gorgeous words and images. You’ve created a haibun with a tanka closing; so exhilarating.
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Thank you so much for your kind words dear Glenn, so glad you enjoyed the tanka prose 🤗
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I imagine that sea was the source of many stories.
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Thank you kindly dear Frank, I imagine so too 🤗
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Loved this. I was there with the image.
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Thank you kindly dear Buddah 🙂
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A lovely memory, beautifully captured!
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Thank you so much for your kind words dear Beverly 💜
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Like others, so enjoyed this, particularly the “plain-ness” of it. Reminded me of reading Basho – a grounded piece in the real world, that just drifts off in the last line. So good
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Thank you so much for your kind words dear Peter, so glad you enjoyed it too 🤗
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your tanka and pics really took me there … the peaceful ambiance felt so mellow 🙂
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Thank you so much for your kind words dear Kate and for walking along with us here, it was such a beautiful morning 💜
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it came across so well … most enjoyable 🙂
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That crisp, winter, Northern light – so wonderful. Your writing is beautiful, too, the story taking us beyond the horizon.
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Thank you so much for your kind words dear Sarah. The light is beautiful here in Winter and it’s lovely to wrap up warm and go for a long walk in the crisp cold air 💜
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Perfect pairing of images and words … tanka is my favorite form. haiku comes next.
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Thank you so much for your kind words dear Helen, tanka and haiku are such wonderful forms and very meditative too 💜
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So Lovely and peaceful Xenia.
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Thank you kindly dear Linda 💜
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Looks and sounds like a day well spent. Love the way it’s captured in your poem.
Pat
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Thank you so much for your kind words dear Pat 💖 xxx
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My pleasure😊
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