Nelson's Castle thru Sharp's words & eyes

The excavation of an 11th century monastery and abbey at Nelson's castle.



Nearby is the Nelson family plot where a few family Nelsons rest, as well as a couple of peasants killed in wartime bombings including two brothers.

Also here lies the controversial poet William Sharp who published under 2 identities - his own and Fiona McLeod. Yeats preferred Fiona's work over Sharp's -- not sure how that all worked out since they were the same person...

Interestingly, Sharp was a member of the mystical Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, perhaps the single largest influencer of the modern-day occult. He died here suddenly at the castle on 12/12 in 1905.



Sharp's Valley of Silence

In the secret Valley of Silence
No breath doth fall;
No wind stirs in the branches;
No bird doth call:
As on a white wall
breathless lizard is still,
So silence lies on the valley
Breathlessly still.



After a stop by the cemetary, which was closed, a farmer across the street invited us in to sample his lovely grapes.