Tweetspeak Poetry

  • Home
  • FREE prompts
  • National Poetry Month
  • Every Day Poems—Subscribe! ✨
  • Teaching Tools
  • Books, Etc.
  • Patron Love

Image-ine: Defying The Queen With A Door

By Claire Haidar 9 Comments

One of the legends of the doors of Dublin goes something along the lines of a queen in mourning and her commands being defied. But as all stories told by the Irish, this one needs to be taken with a pinch of salt to counter the ever enlarging stories brewed up in pubs amidst Guinness barrels and the good ol’ stout, some juicy ciders and you-know-what-I-means. These Irish, they really do love spinning ’em yarns.

The Irish have their yarns but I would be lying if I said these doors didn’t hold some sway over this lass too.

On 10 september 2009 I penned these words into my blog: “they just keep finding me. these blue doors. i think i might just have to knock on one someday. i quite fancy the idea of asking for the person who answers to tell me a story. anything really. but a story of a life that paints a door blue, is what i would like to hear.”

I remember that afternoon like a pristine picture:

I cannot see movement but then again the window is not exactly telling in its display of the innards of this home. I raise my hand to knock, lower my hand. It hangs limp at my side. I turn to look at the river, turn back again, raise my hand but cannot do it.

I stand in front of the royal blue door for what seems like an afternoon. I amble away only to come back again.

It was the brightness of the fire engine red everywhere that allured me back to this town. Most returned for the river that flowed so widely through the stone buildings and curved with the shape of the hillock up ahead. Or they came for the pub: that place where music seemed to secure itself into the wall, echoing silently long after the instruments have been laid down. There is something about the stonework in the village, offset by the brightness of the red that just captivates me in the afternoon sun, especially five o’clock sun, the kind that doesn’t burn but that illuminates beautifully anything that lands in its path.

I walk around the house with its roughened, white finish that looks as if the painter used a really old roller and left pieces behind that got tangled in the paint, leaving a lumpy finish to the wall. I crane my neck, standing on tippy toes outside the window to see if anyone is home. Mom taught me that it is rude to be a peeping tom but I really cannot help myself today. This little cottage needs my attention. It tells me so. I walk back around to the door to admire the shocking pink Fuchsias with their purple earrings that dangle and sway in the wind.

I turn and walk away for good. I lose all courage to raise the knocker and let it fall back down onto the hard wood.

That was the last time I ever went back to Ramelton again. I moved to Dublin instead and discovered not only blue doors, but purple doors, red doors, yellow doors, grey doors, orange doors, pink doors, green doors … you name it and I will hazard a guess that I could find you a door painted in that exact colour.

The legend goes that when Queen Victoria died her subjects were ordered to paint their doors black as a sign of mourning at the loss of their monarchy. The Irish, true to their defiance, painted the doors every colour under the sun instead. The other legend is about a man who stumbled out of a pub, into the wrong door, up the wrong stairs and into the wrong bed, next to the wrong wife. The next day all the women promptly painted their doors differing colours to make the homeward journey a little less confusing for their stupoured husbands.

My blog entry wangled itself into my heart and with the defiance of an Irishman it will not relent. And so I have given in to all this colour. I let that knocker fall; I invited myself to tea. I heard one story, then another, then another because in Ireland stories are how life happens.

This is the start of a series called the Doors Of Dublin. It is changing my photographic journey in many ways because it is pushing boundaries I never knew existed but more importantly, I am learning the lesson that every photographer needs to learn: the story is not about your interpretation of the moment, it’s about the truth unfolding before your lens. Stay tuned to meet some very interesting characters. Click on the images below to see the larger images of the doors.





_________________________

Check out our historical novel, set in Ireland!

WC-cover-share

“A powerful saga of love and survival.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

  • Author
  • Recent Posts
Claire Haidar
Claire Haidar
Part chaos. Part rocket fuel. CEO of the tech company WNDYR and co-founder of the Pattyrn app. Author of Spin: Taking Your Creativity to the Nth Degree. Wild child.
Claire Haidar
Latest posts by Claire Haidar (see all)
  • Be Bold! Your Creativity Needs It - January 7, 2014
  • Spin Creativity Book: A Ticklish Excerpt - December 18, 2013
  • Using Lists To Prioritise Creativity In Your Diary - December 3, 2013

Filed Under: article, Blog, Dublin Doors, Image-ine, visual poetry

Get Every Day Poems...

About Claire Haidar

Part chaos. Part rocket fuel. CEO of the tech company WNDYR and co-founder of the Pattyrn app. Author of Spin: Taking Your Creativity to the Nth Degree. Wild child.

Comments

  1. Maureen Doallas says

    October 26, 2012 at 9:00 am

    Wonderful post.

    I’m also drawn to doors, because behind them “life happens”; I own a Roberta Collier photograph of a door in Morocco, one of the first images I ever purchased, and I love it to this day.

    Reply
  2. Claire Burge says

    October 26, 2012 at 9:16 am

    Maureen, the doors of Morocco are something else with those big handles and slatted wood! I actually have a series of Moroccan door photographs that I took when we were there a few years back that I would love to frame!

    What colour is your door?

    Reply
    • Maureen Doallas says

      October 26, 2012 at 2:17 pm

      The image is titled “Door with Orange Peel”. The wall beside the door is what I call a sea-washed blue.

      Reply
  3. Connie Mace says

    October 26, 2012 at 10:27 am

    When I visited Dublin(in 2009!)I was completely surprised by the wondrous doors. I’d prepared for my visit to Ireland by reading about many things, but had missed anything about the doors.

    As I was limited to just a few hours with much to see, I was only able to take a few “door” photos. So I’m looking forward to seeing yours!

    Reply
  4. L. L. Barkat says

    October 26, 2012 at 10:50 am

    can’t wait; I am standing at the doors with you, full of curiosity and the hope of a good cup of tea and a story 🙂

    Reply
  5. Tania Runyan says

    October 26, 2012 at 11:08 am

    Gorgeous, Claire!

    Reply
  6. Laura says

    October 26, 2012 at 3:59 pm

    Oh, these doors! How they invite. Just as your words do, dear Claire. Excited to sit and listen to your adventures again. Sounds like it will be quite the yarn 😉

    Reply
  7. SimplyDarlene says

    October 26, 2012 at 11:36 pm

    And miss daring Claire, just what color is your door?

    Doorknobs in the middle of the doors? Hmmm.

    blessings.

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Dublin Doors: No 12 Lombard Street West - Tweetspeak Poetry says:
    March 19, 2016 at 1:19 pm

    […] am looking but trying not to look. Not an easy thing to do. Because, you see, I am curious, in fact beyond curious. But Dad always told me that “curiosity killed the cat” so I […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Cute Comic

😊

The Sadbook Collections

A stick-figure human sure to capture your heart.

Take How to Read a Poem

Get the Introduction, the Billy Collins poem, and Chapter 1

get the sample now

Welcome to Tweetspeak

New to Tweetspeak Poetry? Start here, in The Mischief Café. You're a regular? Check out our March Menu.

Patron Love

❤️

Welcome a little patron love, when you help keep the world poetic.

Now a Graphic Novel!

"Stunning, heartbreaking, and relevant illustrations"

Callie Feyen, teacher

read a summary of The Yellow Wallpaper

meet The Yellow Wallpaper characters

Your Comments

  • abmeld on National Poetry Month: How to Write a Form Poem!
  • Bethany on Pandemic Journal: An Entry on Peaceful Writing on the Porch
  • Faith Whetstone on Pandemic Journal: An Entry on Peaceful Writing on the Porch
  • 20 Best Poetry Books About Love to Read Now  | Giannina Braschi on Poets and Poems: Dave Malone’s “O: Love Poems from the Ozarks”

How to Write Poetry

Featured In

We're happy to have been featured in...

The Huffington Post

The Paris Review

The New York Observer

Tumblr Book News

Stay in Touch With Us

Categories

Coloring Page Poem Printables!

Get all free coloring page poems now

Learn to Write Form Poems

How to Write an Acrostic

How to Write a Ballad

How to Write a Catalog Poem

How to Write a Ghazal

How to Write a Haiku

How to Write an Ode

How to Write a Pantoum

How to Write a Rondeau

How to Write a Sestina

How to Write a Sonnet

How to Write a Villanelle

5 FREE POETRY PROMPTS

Get 5 FREE inbox poetry prompts from the popular book How to Write a Poem

Shakespeare Resources

Poetry Classroom: Sonnet 18

Common Core Picture Poems: Sonnet 73

Sonnet 104 Annotated

Sonnet 116 Annotated

Character Analysis: Romeo and Juliet

Character Analysis: Was Hamlet Sane or Insane?

Why Does Hamlet Wait to Kill the King?

10 Fun Shakespeare Resources

About Shakespeare: Poet and Playwright

Top 10 Shakespeare Sonnets

See all 154 Shakespeare sonnets in our Shakespeare Library!

Explore Work From Black Poets

About Us

  • • A Blessing for Writers
  • • Annual Theme 2022: Perspective
  • • Annual Theme 2021: Generous
  • • Our Story
  • • Meet Our Team
  • • Literary Citizenship
  • • Poet Laura
  • • Poetry for Life: The 5 Vital Approaches
  • • T. S. Poetry Press – All Books
  • • Contact Us

Write With Us

  • • 5 FREE Poetry Prompts-Inbox Delivery
  • • 30 Days to Richer Writing Workshop
  • • How to Write Form Poems-Infographics
  • • Poetry Club Tea Date
  • • Poetry Prompts
  • • Submissions

Read With Us

  • • All Our Books
  • • Book Club
  • • Every Day Poems—Subscribe! ✨
  • • Literacy Extras
  • • Poems to Listen By: Audio Series
  • • Poet-a-Day
  • • Poets and Poems
  • • 50 States Projects
  • • Charlotte Perkins Gilman Poems Library
  • • Edgar Allan Poe Poems Arts & Experience Library
  • • William Blake Poems Arts & Experience Library
  • • William Shakespeare Sonnet Library

Celebrate With Us

  • • Poem on Your Pillow Day
  • • Poetic Earth Month
  • • Poet in a Cupcake Day
  • • Poetry at Work Day
  • • Random Acts of Poetry Day
  • • Take Your Poet to School Week
  • • Take Your Poet to Work Day

Gift Ideas

  • • Every Day Poems
  • • Our Shop
  • • Everybody Loves a Book!

Connect

  • • Donate
  • • Blog Buttons
  • • By Heart
  • • Shop for Tweetspeak Fun Stuff

Copyright © 2023 Tweetspeak Poetry · FAQ, Disclosure & Privacy Policy

We serve poetry with our cookies. Because that's the way it should be.
We serve poetry with your cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you... accept the cookies with a smile.
Do not sell my personal information.
Cookie SettingsAccept
update cookie prefs

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT