Unitarian Church Cemetery, Charleston, S.C.
It was a gray and overcast day here in the lowcountry, perfect for a walk through one of our old cemeteries and the Unitarian Church Cemetery is one of my favorites. It's always a bit wild and ungroomed looking with birds and the odd cat looking quite at home.
I found this poem on their web site:
Won't somebody tell me, answer if you can!
Won't somebody tell me, what is the soul of a man
I'm going to ask the question, answer if you can
If anybody here can tell me, what is the soul of a man?
I've traveled in different countries, I've traveled foreign lands
I've found nobody to tell me, what is the soul of a man
Blind Willie Johnson
7 comments:
This was favorite cemetery in Charleston, and one of my favorite overall spots as well.
Soul of a Man is familiar to me as a song sung by Bruce Cockburn (Canadian).
Les - Mine too. This early frost really did a lot of damage to the plants. We don't usually get this cold until much later in the winter.
The "cemetery" was always referred to as "The Churchyard" when I attended the church and, I expect it still is. Volunteers from the church who tidy graves are referred to as "Eden Keepers."
One of my students confessed to me that she rollerbladed in the yard until she was stopped by a body guard for Richard Gere. Gere was fliming a movie near Charleston and used the churchyard as a place to sit meditation. He explained to my student that she was violating a sacred space.
I live in Cincinnati now and am deeply homesick for Charleston. Your blog is a daily ritual for me, bringing me back to places I looked at every day on my walk to work.
rousjh - I love "Eden Keepers". This is a very special place. Years ago I was walking there early on New Year's Day and met a young couple. We visited and they were in a few on my pictures. When I walked out the front they had pulled their truck up and were filling it with artifacts from the cemetery.
I was furious! I stomped my foot and started documenting everything they were doing with my camera. I took pictures of them, their truck, their license plate.
I came home and wrote a blog post about it that was picked up by the P & C crime reporter and received a thank you letter from the church. The kids did put the stuff back.
Thanks for your kind comments about the blog!
hey, I should have you lead a downtown cemetery photo walk for the photo meetup group. would you be interested?
imabug - I'd have to study up!
I work at the UU and am a member there - I love how the churchyard's wild aesthetic fits well with the UU's openness and relaxed vibe. Thanks for the photos Joan! PS I think I saw you standing at Basil the other night, waiting out the rain. Happy Holidays!
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