MUD

Robert William Service (1874-1958)

Mud is Beauty in the making,

Mud is melody awaking;

Laughter, leafy whisperings,

Butterflies with rainbow wings;

Baby babble, lover's sighs,

Bobolink in lucent skies;

Ardours of heroic blood

All stem back to Matrix Mud.

Mud is mankind in the moulding,

Heaven's mystery unfolding;

Miracles of mighty men,

Raphael's brush and Shakespeare’s pen;

Sculpture, music, all we owe

Mozart, Michael Angelo;

Wonder, worship, dreaming spire,

Issue out of primal mire.

In the raw, red womb of Time

Man evolved from cosmic slime;

And our thaumaturgic day

Had its source in ooze and clay . . .

But I have not power to see

Such stupendous alchemy:

And in star-bright lily bud

Lo! I worship Mother Mud.

POEMS

Classic Poetry Series, Poem Hunter, 2016, pp.456

Alchemy

Act IV No.01, Crazed

Act IV No.01, Crazed, Albany, New York

Act IV No.02, Gold Coke

Act IV No.02, Gold Coke, Troy, New York

Act IV No.03, Copper

Act IV No.03, Copper, Albany, New York

Act IV No.04

Act IV No.04, Braddock, Pennsylvania

Act IV No.05

Act IV No.05, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Act IV No.06, Hope On

Act IV No.06, Hope On, Steubenville, Ohio

Act IV No.07, Verizon

Act IV No.07, Verizon, Albany, New York

Act IV No.08, Conceive

Act IV No.08, Conceive, Albany, New York

Act IV No.09

Act IV No.09, ?????, Pennsylvania

Act IV No.10

Act IV No.10, ?????, New York

Act IV No.11

Act IV No.11, Erie, Pennsylvania

Act IV No.12

Act IV No.12, Troy, New York

Act IV No.13

Act IV No.13, ?????, Pennsylvania

Act IV No.14, Purple Haze

Act IV No.14, Purple Haze, Albany, New York

Act IV No.15, Mary

Act IV No.15, Mary, Johnstown, Pennsylvania

Act IV No.16, Empty Spirit

Act IV No.16, Empty Spirit, Reading, Pennsylvania

Act IV No.17, Alarm

Act IV No.17, Alarm, Albany, New York

Act IV No.18, School 17

Act IV No.18, School 17, Albany, New York

Act IV No.19, Bit Test

Act IV No.19, Bit Test, Albany, New York

Act IV No.20, Pipe Dream

Act IV No.20, Pipe Dream, Reading, Pennsylvania

Act IV No.21

Act IV No.21, ?????, Pennsylvania

Act IV No.22, Scrabble Board

Act IV No.22, Scrabble Board, Johnstown, Pennsylvania

Act IV No.23, 400 Power St

Act IV No.23, 400 Power St, Johnstown, Pennsylvania

Act IV No.24

Act IV No.24, ????, Pennsylvania

Act IV No.25, Orange

Act IV No.25, Orange, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Act IV No.26, Muddled Mess,

Act IV No.26, Muddled Mess, Albany, New York

Act IV No.27, Self Portrait

Act IV No.27, Self Portrait, McKeesport, Pennsylvania

Act IV No.28, Black & Brown

Act IV No.28, Black & Brown, Reading, Pennsylvania

Act IV No.29, Coca-Cola

Act IV No.29, Coca-Cola, Williamsport, Pennsylvania

Act IV No.30, Exit

Act IV No.30, Exit, Mansfield, Ohio

Act IV No.31

Act IV No.31, Troy, New York

Act IV No.32, America First

Act IV No.32, America First, Braddock, Pennsylvania

Act IV No.33, Oak Sprout

Act IV No.33, Oak Sprout, York, Pennsylvania

Act IV No.34

Act IV No.34, Albany, New York

Act IV No.35, Cog

Act IV No.35, Cog, ?????, Pennsylvania

Act IV No.36

Act IV No.36, ????, New York

Act IV No.37

Act IV No.37, ?????, Pennsylvania

Act IV No.38

Act IV No.38, Wetervette, New York

Act IV No.39, The Mill

Act IV No.39, The Mill, Berlin, New Hampshire

Act IV No.40

Act IV No.40, Cleveland, Ohio

Cathedrals, Ashes of Dreams

Cathedrals, Ashes of Dreams captures the grandeur, grit, and quiet decay of America’s industrial heart. From soaring steel mills to hushed textile factories, each photograph tells the story of families who built homes, forged communities, and pursued the American dream of independence, hard work, and hope. These images honor the hands, hearts, and perseverance of those whose labor and family lives were inseparably intertwined, shaping an era that defined a nation. The photographs trace the rhythm of daily life—the clang of steel, the hum of looms, and the warmth of Mom-and-Pop stores that served as the lifeblood of countless towns. In every frame, Cathedrals, Ashes of Dreams evokes the poetry of resilience, the weight of legacy, and the lingering shadows of lost dreams—reminders of ambitions, lives, and communities that once breathed vitality into these industrial landscapes. It is a meditation on creation and decline, on hope and impermanence, and on the enduring spirit of the people whose stories remain etched into the steel, brick, and memory of a vanished world.

Alchemy in this series becomes a framework through which the human experience is captured, using external imagery of architecture to explore transformation. The structures—walls, arches, patterns, and decayed facades—mirror the alchemical journey, reflecting the interplay between external change and internal growth. Each image invites contemplation of personal paths toward enlightenment, revealing how our surroundings shape understanding of the universe and the divine. Through this visual metaphor, the work gestures toward the emergence of enduring, almost eternal qualities within human experience, while also questioning the future of identity in a world increasingly intertwined with AI and transhuman frontiers.

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