Resten van de kloostergang van Melrose Abbey before 1870

This photograph captures the remnants of Melrose Abbey's cloister. The pointed arches, reaching towards the heavens, speak of a reaching for the divine, a common motif in Gothic architecture. These arches, symbols of aspiration and transition, echo across cultures. We find them in Roman triumphal arches, gateways to glory and power, or the delicate curves in Islamic architecture, doorways to paradise. The arch here becomes a potent symbol of the threshold, both physical and spiritual. Consider the emotional resonance of ruins. They elicit a sense of melancholy, a contemplation of time and decay. Yet, within these stones, a sense of immortality persists. The enduring arch, a testament to human ingenuity, continues to bridge the earthly and the eternal. Even in decay, these motifs evoke an emotional response, a longing for something just beyond reach. The arch has a long, cyclical history. From the Roman Empire to the Gothic cathedrals and beyond, they reappear, each time evolving in form and meaning, yet always carrying a sense of passage and transformation.