The Hundred Thousand Places

By Thomas A. Clarke

Delicately looping across several distinct seasons through a variety of highland and island environments, this breathtakingly perceptive prose offers a unique and highly visualized perspective of the meandering Scottish landscape. Suggesting that the nature of walking is a state of continual waking, this reflective and enduring poem trails along the coast, over mountains and moorland, through pine and birch forests, all while remaining attentive and responsive to the stimuli encountered. Gentle lapses in concentration or a subtle pause in narrative prompt deep reflection in this beautifully composed traipse through the tangible landscapes of a distinctly rare imagination.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Independent Publishers Group
• Release date: Apr 1, 2010
• ISBN: 9781847778178

Book preview

THOMAS A. CLARK

The Hundred Thousand Places

Contents

Title Page

Acknowledgement

The Hundred Thousand Places

About the Author

Copyright

Acknowledgement

Thanks are due to the Scottish Arts Council for a writer’s bursary during the making of this book.

The Hundred Thousand Places

once again

for the first time

morning 

a sea mist closing

every distance

cliffs falling away

from the edge of a world

only half accomplished

listen

feel your way out

into what might

wave or rock

take form 

you are not sure

there where you hover

over yourself

stay there 

as if you were implicated

the lifting of the mist

from the water

the grey wake