Alec Finlay: We all need shelter
Howe is an expression of the notion that the appropriate way to recognise the sun’s fundamental unity with the earth is through the agency of shelter. It is a temple of the sun. This is resonant with what I have already noted, namely that the physical and spiritual aspects of shelter are deeply intertwined in the human psyche. In a complementary way that is what the classical myth of Philemon and Baucis tells us also. If you give freely to others of the hospitality of your hut, you may find that your hut has become transformed into a temple.
text & photography, Murdo Macdonald
coda
a bowl, after Ovid
growing old together
Baucis & Philemon
share this humble home
raking ashes, lighting fires
with the little breath
their frail bodies have left
in the middle of the table
they set their only bounty
a bowl of clear white honey
(AF)
ALEC FINLAY
Source: Alec Finlay: We all need shelter
