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oments in time are ice, melting as fast as they freeze. The ideal is
remembered,
for better or for worse. Is there a way to capture the true essence that
moment?
This thought
entertains me as I stand in one of the most beautiful places in all
of the world. I am atop what I imagine to be a castle
turrett; up a steep, winding mountain road, overlooking El Yunque—the
Carribean National Forest in Luquillo, Puerto Rico. Eyes wide open, I
soar over the tree tops, peek in on the house on stilts—how
long has it stood?—and become the curve of the island, stretching myself
from
lighthouse to neverending horizon to the West and back again. This is
eternity.
There is a story to me being here, on this mild February afternoon,
still sunkissed from a day strolling the banks of the Playa Flamenca
the day before; body still undulating from the 2 hour freight ferry boat
ride back to Fajardo, surrounded by an infinite supply of energy. The
water, the boat.. the family. For now, though, it is just me and the
towering, lush green mountains hidden with secret waterfalls and caves,
infested
with vibrant flowers and stunning wildlife. This is eternity.
Are you
interested in the story? There is always an end that comes too soon
and never wraps up quite right. There is a delicate balance that must
be met, and to try to tell this tale will take away from the beauty.
I came, I saw, I grieved, I fell in love, I returned changed. But my
photograph is of El Yunque, on that turrett, taking deep breaths that
meant something. The air is intoxicating, invigorating, healing. My lungs
yearn to know more of it. This is eternity.
"Napali" Photograph
by Brian
Ferguson
I am face to face with a hummingbird
a shade of blue that Crayola has no hope of matching. It is watching
me; I it. The stones of the old stairway are slowly eroding, the water
a sculptor, patiently molding the rocks to their natural shape. I am
trapped in a Kodak commercial, the whole field of view awash with Clorox
brightness, and the hummingbird, still lingering, creating a new color
spectrum for my eyes to know. This is eternity.
Moments in time are ice,
melting as fast as they freeze. Memory fades; memory exaggerates. These
moments created eternity. They remain here,
forever.
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