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Áine Keenan
@ainekeenan.bsky.social
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An Irish Woman In India
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Áine Keenan @ainekeenan.bsky.social · Nov 12
If they see breasts
and long hair coming
they call it woman,
if beard and whiskers
they call it man:
but, look, the Self
that hovers in between
is neither man
nor woman
O Ramanatha

Dasimayya, 11th century

#Ardhanarishwara #TamilNadu #India
Ardhanarishwara Temple, Adiannamalai, Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu
ainekeenan.bsky.social
Everybody needs good neighbours.
With a little understanding,
You can find the perfect blend.
That's when good neighbours
become good friends.

Barry Crocker, 20th century

#Photography #Poetry #SpeirGorm #StreetPhotography #Caturday #ImageAndVerse #ArtOfBlueSky #PhotographersOfBlueSky #EastCoastKin
A defensive black cat with white markings shares food with a much bigger peacock bearing a vibrant blue neckline. Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu, India.
November 15, 2025 at 4:01 AM
ainekeenan.bsky.social
Ya douse an souse
Ya rub and scrub
Ya sputter and splash
all over the tub
You may be cold and wet
when you're done
But ya gotta admit
it's good clean fun

Snow White, 20th century

#Photography #Poetry #SpeirGorm #StreetPhotography #ImageAndVerse #ArtOfBlueSky #PhotographersOfBlueSky #EastCoastKin
Two veshti-clad trainee brahmin priests look on as a third beats a cloth on the steps to clean it after soaking it in an orange plastic bucket. Sri Ramanasramam, Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu, India.
November 14, 2025 at 6:06 AM
ainekeenan.bsky.social
England's not the mythical land
of Madame George and roses
It's the home of police who
kill blacks boys on mopeds ...

Sinéad O'Connor, 21st century

#Photography #Poetry #SpeirGorm #UrbanGaze #ArtChallenges #StreetPhotography #India #ImageAndVerse #ArtOfBlueSky #PhotographersOfBlueSky #EastCoastKin
At a busy crossing point, a passenger on the back of a well-lit motorcycle waves in good humour. Of the three motorcycles in view, nobody is wearing a helmet. Behind them, street traders sell peanuts, coconut juice and vegetables to the passing trade. Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu, India.
November 13, 2025 at 9:02 AM
ainekeenan.bsky.social
Magnified, sanctified
Be the holy name
Vilified, crucified
In the human frame
A million candles burning
For the help that never came
You want it darker

Leonard Cohen, 20th century

#Photography #Poetry #SpeirGorm #StreetPhotography #ImageAndVerse #ArtOfBlueSky #PhotographersOfBlueSky #EastCoastKin
An elaborate 50-foot image of the seated Hindu Goddess Amman brightly lit with multi-coloured LED lights is propped up by the roadside on bamboo sticks and metal wires as part of festival celebrations. She holds a trident (trisula) in one hand and a small hand drum (damaru) in the other. A third hand is empty and raised in a gesture (mudra) to allay fear and offer protection to her devotees, whilst a fourth holds a sword to overcome negativity and fight against evil forces. Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu, India.
November 12, 2025 at 11:23 AM
ainekeenan.bsky.social
Truly I tell you, he said,
unless you turn and
become like little children,
you will never enter
the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew, 1st century

#Photography #Wisdom #Poetry #SpeirGorm #StreetPhotography #Children #Wedding #Nepal #ImageAndVerse #ArtOfBlueSky #PhotographersOfBlueSky #EastCoastKin
A short-haired child in a knee-length red floral dress, white stockings and multicoloured shoes gazes innocently between two women in red-patterned silk saris at a wedding in Kathmandu, Nepal.
November 11, 2025 at 6:51 AM
ainekeenan.bsky.social
To die, to sleep;
To sleep: perchance to dream:
ay, there's the rub;
For in that sleep of death
what dreams may come
when we have shuffled
off this mortal coil,
must give us pause.

Shakespeare, 16th century

#Photography #Poetry #SpeirGorm #ImageAndVerse #PhotographersOfBlueSky #EastCoastKin
Sadhu with matted locks and wearing an orange dhoti lies on a black and purple checked towel on a pavement. His head is on a pillow and a saffron cloth covers his bicycle behind. Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu, India.
November 10, 2025 at 4:11 AM
ainekeenan.bsky.social
Death, be not proud,
though some have called thee
mighty and dreadful,
for thou art not so;
for those whom thou think'st
thou overthrow die not,
poor Death ...

John Donne, 17th century

#Photography #Poetry #SpeirGorm #India #ImageAndVerse #ArtOfBlueSky #PhotographersOfBlueSky #EastCoastKin
A man dressed completely in saffron clothing to symbolise his renunciation, detachment from worldly pleasures, and a life of penance and spirituality, walks past a spotlit hand-painted board with an account of the death experience as described by Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi. When SRI RAMANA MAHARSHI realized the Self he was a lad of sixteen, still at school. He took a single step and reached the goal. MAHARSHI himself described how this happened It was about six weeks before I left Madurai for good that the great change in my life took place. It was quite sudden. I was sitting alone in a room on the first floor of my uncle's house. I seldom had any sickness, and on that day there was nothing wrong with my health, but a sudden violent fear of death overtook me. There was nothing in my state of health to account for it and I did not try to account for it or to find out whether there was any reason for the fear. I just felt 'I am going to die' and began thinking what to do about it. It did not occur to me to consult a doctor or my elders or friends: I felt that I had to solve the problem myself. there and then. The shock of the fear of death drove my mind Inwards and I said to myself mentally, without actually framing the words: 'Now death has come: what does it mean? What is it that is dying? This body dies: And I. at once dramatized the occurrence of death. I lay with my limbs stretched out stiff as though rigor mortis had set in and imitated a corpse so as to give greater reality to the enquiry. I held my breath and kept my lips tightly closed, so that no sound could escape so that neither the word 'I' nor any other word could be uttered. "Well then," I said to myself, "this body dead. It will be carried stiff to the burning ground and there burnt and reduced to ashes. But with the death of this body am I dead? Is the body 'I'? It is silent and inert but I feel the full force of my personality and even the voice of the I' within me apart from it. So I am spir…
November 8, 2025 at 7:05 AM
ainekeenan.bsky.social
Sometimes I feel like
a motherless child
Sometimes I feel like
a motherless child
Sometimes I feel like
a motherless child
Long way from my home

Van Morrison, 20th century

#Photography #Poetry #SpeirGorm #StreetPhotography #India #ImageAndVerse #ArtOfBlueSky #PhotographersOfBlueSky #EastCoastKin
A young Indian girl, eyes downcast, wearing a school uniform and carrying a rucksack on her back and a tote bag in her right hand walks alone along a road under construction, an earthmover and gravel and clay piles clearly visible behind her. Around her are men weaving through the rubble on cycles. There is a row of three storey buildings in the background. A sign in mostly Tamil script is hand-painted on a nearby wall, with a cellphone number and 'Welcome To Girivalam' text in English. The lyrics are from a traditional spiritual which dates back to the era of slavery in the United States, and the original score of "Motherless Child" was by William E. Barton, D.D., 1899. An early performance of the song was in the 1870s by the Fisk Jubilee Singers, and Van Morrison recorded a version for his 1987 album 'Poetic Champions Compose'. Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu, India.
November 7, 2025 at 4:44 AM
ainekeenan.bsky.social
You’ve got to sing like
you don’t need the money
Love like you’ll never get hurt
You’ve got to dance like
nobody’s watchin’
It’s gotta come from the heart

Susanna Clarke, 20th century

#Photography #Wisdom #Poetry #SpeirGorm #India #ImageAndVerse #ArtOfBlueSky #PhotographersOfBlueSky #EastCoastKin
A scarecrow with arms and legs spread out stands in a paddy field protecting the growing rice from birds. Behind, five coconut trees sway in the gentle breeze. Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu, India.
November 5, 2025 at 5:28 AM
ainekeenan.bsky.social
And the band plays Waltzing Matilda
And the men still answer the call
But year after year
their numbers get fewer
Some day no one will march there at all

The Dubliners, 20th century

#Photography #Wisdom #Poetry #SpeirGorm #India #ImageAndVerse #ArtOfBlueSky #PhotographersOfBlueSky #EastCoastKin
A group of more than a dozen bare-chested, dark-skinned, barefoot and orange dhoti-clad men walk the 14 km along the pilgrim route around the holy hill of Arunachala, Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu, India, a ritual practice known as girivalam or giripradakshina.
November 4, 2025 at 6:56 AM
ainekeenan.bsky.social
House-builder, you are seen,
you will not build a house again.
All the rafters are broken,
the ridgepole destroyed.
The mind, gone to the Unconstructed,
has reached the end of craving.

Buddha, 5th century BCE

#Photography #Poetry #SpeirGorm #ImageAndVerse #PhotographersOfBlueSky #EastCoastKin
Against the backdrop of a blue sky at dawn, a seated Buddha statue with a row of circular pillars on either side. Had ached to experience Wat Mahathat (Temple Of The Great Relic), Sukhothai without hordes of other tourists. So as dawn broke, an unlocked side entrance allowed the stillness, inwardness and poise of this sublime Buddha steal my breath away. Thank you, Thailand.
November 3, 2025 at 5:22 AM
ainekeenan.bsky.social
Oh ...
You better watch out,
You better not cry
You better not pout,
I'm telling you why...
Santa Claus is coming to town!

Bruce Springsteen, 20th century

#Photography #Wisdom #Poetry #SpeirGorm #Christmas #StreetPhotography #India #ImageAndVerse #ArtOfBlueSky #PhotographersOfBlueSky #EastCoastKin
Rear of an Indian private bus with an image of a child wearing a Santa hat. Christmas in India is always a little surreal. Outside of the tiny Christian population, there's little to tell it is actually happening - no carols, no ornament-laden trees, no manic advertising. But when you least expect it, something like this appears!!!
November 2, 2025 at 6:53 AM
ainekeenan.bsky.social
𝗜𝗻𝗱𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗵!
𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴
𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲
𝗔𝗹𝗹 𝗔𝘁 𝗢𝗻𝗰𝗲 ...

#Photography #Wisdom #Poetry #MysticPoetry #SpeirGorm #India #StreetPhotography #ImageAndVerse #ArtOfBlueSky #PhotographersOfBlueSky #EastCoastKin
Large Highways Department roadside traffic sign with icons of four different visual instructions and the accompanying text 'Follow Traffic Signs'. Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu, India.
November 1, 2025 at 10:01 AM
ainekeenan.bsky.social
And at last I see the light
And it's like the fog has lifted
And at last I see the light
And it's like the sky is new
All at once everything looks different
Now that I see You

Tangled, 21st century

#Photography #Poetry #SpeirGorm #ImageAndVerse #ArtOfBlueSky #PhotographersOfBlueSky #EastCoastKin
Holding a sparkler at Halloween. Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu, India.
October 31, 2025 at 6:06 AM
ainekeenan.bsky.social
Suppose you cut
a tall bamboo in two;
make one half a woman,
the other a man;
rub them together
till they kindle:
tell me now,
the fire that's born,
is it male or female,
O Ramanatha?

Dasimayya, 11th century

#Photography #Poetry #Mystic #SpeirGorm #ImageAndVerse #ArtOfBlueSky #India #EastCoastKin
Statue of Ardhanarishwara, the Hindu deity representing the synthesis of masculine and feminine energies of creation illustrating how Shakti, the female principle, is inseparable from Shiva, the male principle, and vice versa. This particular piece was hand-carved recently in Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu, India under the tutelage of a Christian master sculptor. Personal collection.
October 30, 2025 at 7:03 AM
ainekeenan.bsky.social
Oh, who are the people in your neighborhood?
In your neighborhood.
Say, who are the people in your neighborhood?
The people that you meet each day.

Sesame Street, 20th century

#Photography #Poetry #SpeirGorm #StreetPhotography #ImageAndVerse #ArtOfBlueSky #PhotographersOfBlueSky #EastCoastKin
Sari-clad woman holding with her left hand a metal container of fruit for sale on her head as she walks along a street beside an ochre-wearing sadhu with silver-grey matted locks and a beard cycling a bicycle with his possessions in the front basket. Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu, India.
October 29, 2025 at 5:37 AM
ainekeenan.bsky.social
The conditions of a solitary bird are five: it flies to the highest point; it does not suffer for company, not even its own kind; it aims its beak to the skies; it does not have a definite colour; it sings very softly.

St John of the Cross, 17th century

#Photography #Birds #SpeirGorm #EastCoastKin
An auspicious white peacock perches on a yellow wall of a house painted with blue, yellow and salmon pink vertical lines, along with overhanging green foliage. Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu, India.
October 28, 2025 at 12:16 AM
ainekeenan.bsky.social
New eyes each year
Find old books here,
And new books, too,
Old eyes renew;
So youth and age
Like ink and page
In this house join,
Minting new coin.

Philip Larkin, 20th century

#Photography #Wisdom #Poetry #SpeirGorm #India #Ganesh #ImageAndVerse #ArtOfBlueSky #PhotographersOfBlueSky #EastCoastKin
An ornate painting of Ganapati, the Hindu god of new beginnings (and the remover of obstacles), graces the blue metal door entrance to this community library which houses over a thousand books. Operating entirely on an honour system, the combination code allows for withdrawals and returns without further oversight. Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu, India
October 26, 2025 at 4:05 AM
ainekeenan.bsky.social
Lord, thou art hard on mothers:
We suffer in their coming
and their going;
And tho' I grudge them not,
I weary, weary
Of the long sorrow -
And yet I have my joy ...

Pádraig Pearse, 20th century

#Photography #Wisdom #Poetry #SpeirGorm #Cats #Caturday #ImageAndVerse #ArtOfBlueSky #EastCoastKin
A litter of three newborn kittens feeding from their mother, in this her second occasion to give birth. One week later, the mother cat was at my door plaintively meowling, her offspring having been 'disappeared' by the family taking care of her. Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu, India.
October 25, 2025 at 7:26 AM
ainekeenan.bsky.social
I'll see your true colours
Shining through
I see your true colours
And that's why I love you
So don't be afraid
to let them show
Your true colours
True colours are beautiful
Like a rainbow

Cyndi Lauper, 20th century

#Photography #Poetry #SpeirGorm #India #ImageAndVerse #ArtOfBlueSky #EastCoastKin
An Indian painter wearing blue shorts and a yellow tshirt perches on top of a bamboo ladder with buckets dangling from the top rung and leaning against an overhanging porch. The steps leading up to a staircase are covered with buckets, boxes and pots. Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu, India.
October 25, 2025 at 6:50 AM
ainekeenan.bsky.social
History says don’t hope
On this side of the grave.
But then, once in a lifetime
The longed for tidal wave
Of justice can rise up
And hope and history rhyme.

Seamus Heaney, 20th century

#Photography #Poetry #SpeirGorm #Ireland #Aras25 #Áras25 #ImageAndVerse #PhotographersOfBlueSky #EastCoastKin
Poster on a lamppost reading promoting the Irish presidential candidate: Vote No.1 CATHERINE CONNOLLY RAISING YOUR VOICE Behind it is a sign with an image of a bus and a bicycle: Luan - Domh 07:00-10:00 12:00-24:00 MON · SUN There is a tree and a tall building in the background. Camden Street, Dublin, September 2025.
October 24, 2025 at 12:10 AM
ainekeenan.bsky.social
There are friendships
that slip through
the fingers like clear water,
others like a rose that
one absentmindedly sticks
in one's lapel,
but true friendships are limpets
placed silently over the heart.

Lorca, 20th century

#Photography #Poetry #SpeirGorm #ImageAndVerse #ArtOfBlueSky #EastCoastKin
Two friends, one Irish and the other Indian, 'cutting chai' beneath the shade of a tree at a roadside teashop, Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu, India.
October 22, 2025 at 8:40 AM
ainekeenan.bsky.social
Keep walking, though
there's no place to get to.
Don't try to see through distances,
that's not for human beings.
Move within, but don't move
the way fear makes you move.

Rumi, 13th century

#Photography #Wisdom #Poetry #SpeirGorm #ImageAndVerse #ArtOfBlueSky #PhotographersOfBlueSky #EastCoastKin
Peacock walking tentatively through a metal gateway somewhat alert to the risk of being captured or restrained. Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu, India.
October 21, 2025 at 8:37 AM
ainekeenan.bsky.social
I met my love
by the gas works wall
Dreamed a dream
by the old canal
I kissed my girl
by the factory wall

Dirty old town
Dirty old town

Ewan MacColl, 20th century

#Photography #Wisdom #Poetry #SpeirGorm #Ireland #StreetPhotography #PhotographersOfBlueSky #ArtOfBlueSky #ImageAndVerse #EastCoastKin
Cubist-style mural of Irish writer James Joyce on a lane off Grafton Street, Dublin and inspired by his collection of short stories, Dubliners, set in the city. September 2025.
October 20, 2025 at 3:25 AM
ainekeenan.bsky.social
We are family
I got all my sisters with me
We are family
Get up everybody and sing
Living life is fun
and we've just begun
This is our family jewel

Sister Sledge, 20th century

#Photography #Wisdom #Poetry #SpeirGorm #Cats #Caturday #ImageAndVerse #ArtOfBlueSky #PhotographersOfBlueSky #EastCoastKin
An Indian mother tabby cat feeding her four recent kittens on a marble floor, one of whom displays much more interest in the camera than the milk teat. They each have a coat pattern made up of stripes, spots and whorls, and an 'M' shaped mark on their foreheads. Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu, India.
October 18, 2025 at 7:47 AM