I Rake the Sand
Of the standing stones, the Alignments at Carnac, and Japanese stone gardens, one encourages my fantasy, the other satisfies.
The geographical origins of the rocks are on far facets of this planet, yet come from the same human desire for balance, equilibrium, and a need to make sense of chaos or to accept that chaos, if not attempt to rein it in.
My 4500 Carnac rocks come from 6500 years ago and say something about a different time and reality. They also speak to today of the ceaseless search for sense. These sky-pointing boulders have moved a bit since they were first quarried sixty kilometers away and slid over winter snow to be placed erect after the Spring thaw. These giant rocks, while probably lined in eleven straight rows, have moved out of perfect alignment with the flow of the land. Sand shifts, the stones bobbing like rows of corks upon waves of soil, moving slower than glacially. In my head I constantly rearrange the stones, or shall I say, the rocks become as light as paint strokes and pools of color. The stones find themselves in constantly new configurations in my unrestrained interpretations.
To make a point, a Japanese stone garden is perfect as it is. Their boulders are islands in a calm sea of rippling sand, raked by artisans.
I would not touch them.
I rake the sand at Carnac.
2018 – Stepping Stones, Perhaps