Why does a building in ruin speak so directly to me? What allure does a dank, musty corridor hold that a newer structure lacks? Beyond being one who embraces her wanderlust, I’m also drawn to the decay and sense of abandonment such places effuse. What stories have they to tell, what past once thrived within the now crumbling walls? What of the soul that may still canvas the lonely walkways? How do I turn my back on the call, look away when something begs to be seen? How am I to fight the desire to lay my eyes on what has long since gone unnoticed, unwanted, unwelcome? Perhaps I’m not meant to turn and walk away. Perhaps I’m one of the few who must see, must feel, must know what such a place wishes to whisper. Am I to consider myself a chronicler of all things forgotten, one who sits in judgment of those who haven’t a care? Or am I to realize that what has been abandoned, pushed to the side, lost and discarded recognizes me as a similar breed and is reaching out so that somewhere, somehow, something will retain a memory of me?
© Copyright 2014 Nina D’Arcangela. All Rights Reserved.
Welcome to my April AtoZ Blog Challenge post! I hope you enjoyed my ramble, and come back for more! Don’t forget to visit the other bloggers participating by clicking on the badge to the right, or simply using this link. :}
Nina D'Arcangela
Sotet Angyal 
April 15th, 2014 at 10:46 am
There is something about such buildings that stirs the imagination…love the way you have expressed this emotion.
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May 20th, 2014 at 2:29 pm
Thank you! I love abandoned places, it’s an addiction of mine that I can’t shake. Thank you for your extremely kind words!! 🙂
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April 15th, 2014 at 2:45 pm
you capture a bit of that in your photography. Dragons store memory from times long gone so that someone will remember 🙂
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May 20th, 2014 at 2:33 pm
Yes, a good deal of my photography is just that – abandoned and forgotten places. I have a photograph of an empty stairwell in my stairwell – just the one and nothing more. I think that says quite a bit about my taste for expressing the loneliness of object and places. Someone must always remember, in scales, on celluloid, or in words – there is nothing disposable about this world. :}
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April 15th, 2014 at 3:29 pm
wow – great piece – yeah the memories this inanimate object must carry and the kicker – will it remember you – (of course)
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May 20th, 2014 at 2:35 pm
Thank you, Sue! I have an extreme affinity and love of the abandoned, and my true hope is that small pieces of me is remembered everywhere I go – the same as I take a small piece of each place with me as I go.
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April 15th, 2014 at 10:17 pm
I have a thing for deserted farmhouses…lonely and desolate but full of history. I’m an A to Z minion/helper sauntering through the ‘net and checking blogs. Your blog looks wonderful.
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May 20th, 2014 at 2:38 pm
Hi Helen! Thank you for stopping by, and for complimenting my blog! I’m sorry my reply is coming so late, this year’s tour was so large, it was overwhelming but well worth it! Abandoned farmhouses are wonderful – they almost cry-out for a little love and to tell their tale. I wholeheartedly agree! 🙂
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April 15th, 2014 at 10:29 pm
I love old things, and I like to imagine them in their environment when new. Memory: sometimes I prefer the imagined with new possibilities.
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May 20th, 2014 at 2:40 pm
New possibilities are wonderful! Just as wonderful as the stories of old these places have to tell. Though not all are happy ones, they are all still worthy of chronicling – by mouth or written word! Thank you for visiting my blog! 🙂
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April 15th, 2014 at 11:45 pm
If I had a bit more time, I’d do the challenge with you … but school is keeping me busy. But, I’m glad you’re doing this, because I’ve enjoyed (as always) your great tales!
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May 20th, 2014 at 2:43 pm
Hi John! Thank you very much… I’m glad you enjoyed my peeks into other worlds. This tour is a doozy! You have to be ready to sacrifice your soul to it. But it is fun to meet new authors, and experience their perspectives. Start early for next year, and you’ll be able to keep up. 🙂
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April 16th, 2014 at 1:36 pm
Nina, the last line of this is an instant classic; anyone with an ‘eye’ for prose should swoon…and so I did 🙂
Wonderful post! In a single paragraph, you’ve managed to bring seemingly inanimate structures to life!!
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May 20th, 2014 at 2:46 pm
Thank you, Joe, but I can’t take all the credit. I’ve had a lifetime of wanderlust to help me with this one. I’m very glad you liked it – it’s always easiest for me to write what is near and dear to me, but hardest to allow it to be seen and judged. Thank you, again!! 🙂
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April 19th, 2014 at 3:04 pm
Great piece Nina 🙂
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May 20th, 2014 at 2:46 pm
Thanks, Julie!!! 😀
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