Newly Familiar with the Crookedshore

I was afforded a rare privilege the other day as I walked with Tobey along the crookedshore.

I saw the familiar with first time eyes.

It was sunset as I headed towards home, and the sky was a tangle of pinks and reds and purples while all around me were the familiar sights. Belfast Lough, stained with sky colours, opening to the Irish Sea and the coast of Scotland. Cave Hill and Black Mountain brooding over Belfast. The church-spired skyline of Bangor back-lit by the declining sun. Carrickfergus stretching to Kilroot Power Station and the shore by Whitehead, where Ade and I walked and grew to know and love one another. And I perceived it all and knew it as if for the first time.

The wonder of the moment caused me to stop and to drink in the newness of this favourite scene.