Tag: Culloden

Haiku: Clan Stones

Culloden Battlefield

a bunch of wilting flowers wrapped in the Stewart tartan

fenced off
a highland cow feeds
near the clan stones

© Xenia Tran

Presence #73, July 2022

Stewart clan stone at Culloden with a bouquet of flowers

Cee invites us to connect to the present moment and Anne invites us to share our photographic groove. Connecting in a present moment to take a closer look and reflect on what I see runs like a thread through all my writing and photography.

Both haiku and photographs help me to pause and capture these moments and sometimes, such as in this case, the present moment connects me to a poignant moment in the past.

The above haiku is another one from my Culloden series, which has just been published in the July 2022 issue of Presence.

The header image is one I have shared before in a Silent Sunday post called Moorland Grazing. There was a timelessness about the scene that made me pause, reflect and sit down to write for a while.

Wishing you all a wonderful Wednesday,

with love from Xenia xxx

Photographs by Xenia Tran, edited in lr.

Lens-Artists Weekly Photo Challenge #211: What’s Your Photographic Groove

CFFC: Connects You to the Present Moment

Tanka Prose: The Field of Everything

the cairn at Culloden Battlefield with fresh wreaths and flowers

The first gorse is in bloom and its warm scent of coconut and vanilla greets us as we follow the path across the moor. The rookery at Leanach Cottage is full of rooks and hooded crows. I wonder about the music the men who rest here would have danced to and all their loved ones, who wanted to keep them safe.

ancient battleground –
the place where men fell
brimming with life
pilgrims and progeny
hear a skylark sing

© Xenia Tran

a path meandering through shrubs, moorland and trees with a blue flag on the right

This is another poem from a series I wrote at Culloden Battlefield during my visits in February and April. You can read two earlier poems here and here.

Wishing you all a wonderful Wednesday,

with love from Xenia xxx

Photographs by Xenia Tran, edited in lr.

Your Daily Word Prompt: Elude

Haiku: Here – the Silenced

Mixed Clans headstones with flowers at Culloden Battlefield

here – the silenced
still speak
war graves

© Xenia Tran

The Asahi Shimbun, 29 April 2022

close up of wreaths laid at Culloden Cairn on the 276th anniversary of the battle

Some of the wreaths and flowers from the 276th anniversary of the Battle of Culloden, which took place on 16 April 1746.

Wishing you all a peaceful Sunday,

with love from Xenia xxx

Photographs by Xenia Tran, edited in lr.

Lens-Artists Weekly Photo Challenge #197: Rule of Thirds

Haiku: For Ancestors and Progeny

Culloden Battlefield

a wooden memorial bench at Culloden with Gaelic inscription

Culloden Moor –
the grass beside the bench
a paler green

© Xenia Tran

The Asahi Shimbun, 15 April 2022

plaque on memorial bench at Culloden

Wishing you a blessed Sunday, and to all of you who celebrate, a blessed Easter too.

With love from Xenia xxx

Photographs by Xenia Tran, edited in lr.

Rag Tag Daily Prompt: Observance

Weekly Prompts Weekend Challenge: Short

Silent Sunday: Culloden

a winding path between moorland and through a gap in the drystone wall at Culloden
a boggy path through Culloden Battlefield with melting ice
tall grasses waving in the breeze at Culloden Moor

On 16 April 1746, the Jacobite Rising came to a head at Culloden and the repercussions, especially on the Gaelic culture of the Highlands, were felt for many generations.

We visited Culloden at the beginning of February and even though the battle fought here happened a long time ago, you can still feel something in the air.

Over the coming weeks I will be sharing more photographs and a few poems I wrote while we were here.

Wishing you all a blessed Sunday and a peaceful new week,

with love from Xenia xxx

Photographs by Xenia Tran, edited in lr.

Silent Sunday

Weekly Prompts Weekend Challenge: Long