TFE has really pushed the boat out this week, giving us two Ted Hughes's Poems to read. The trouble with reading really good poetry is that anything one writes afterwards seems like rubbish. On the other hand, I do firmly believe that in order to write well one has to read, read, and read again. So there you have it - caught between a rock and a hard place.
I did love both poems - well I would, wouldn't I - they are both concerned with the countryside which is almost my obsession! So I read them both, and other bits of Ted, until Saturday and then I sat down and wrote what could be loosely called a poem. So hear it is TFE - I couldn't let you down, could I. But it needs to go on record that it has made my nutmeg brain work overtime.
Dawn.
Barely a movement, too little light
to see, except for the
barn owl
policing the verge,
gliding with unwavering eye
on the dark grass;
and the hedgehog
snuffling purposefully
down the yard
crunching a snail;
and the rooks,
restless in their rookery,
stretching their wings,
muttering,
waiting
for that first orange blade,
that shaft that pierces through
the half-light and falls
on the trunks of
skeletal trees. PT
Monday 28 September 2009
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22 comments:
This is beautiful Weaver - I saw it all and loved it. Thankyou for your kind comment on my blog. I felt really out of my depth this week. Goodness knows what TFE will think up for us next week. It is good to exercise the brain, even if you don't think you have one! By that, may I hasten to add, I mean I don't think I have one.
The poem was delightful.
Weaver, what a gem of a poem capturing a fleeting moment in time. Really like it - the owl in flight image in particular.
And goodness, it was a tough challenge this week, wasn't it?
I felt like I was sitting on your front porch with an early cup of tea watching the world awaken. Your nutmeg was cookin up something mighty tasty.
Can almost smell the nocturnal air :-).. I miss the sound of hedghogs in the garden, not many of them round here.. or owls come to think of it! Really enjoyed the gentle -ness of this poem, a quiet hush whispered in my head.. thank you :-D
Incredibly evocative. I've seen owls at night "policing the verge" - it very aptly describes what they do.
Lovely poem Weaver,I see all the elements and how it builds towards it's beautiful ending.A lot of nature Ted in there, I thought.Something like the awaiting of a birth, or the silence and solitude of a boxer waiting for the bell.I love the notion of the half-light, I've used it in my poem too,mine stolen from Yeats(not a fan but certain things stuck!) Love these lines...
that first orange blade,
that shaft that pierces through
the half-light and falls
on the trunks of
skeletal trees.
Very lucid, very lyrical and evocative - I saw it all.
Beautifully evocative Weaver - it felt like I was there.
I love the hedgehog
snuffling purposefully.
the barn owl policing the verge....
a good image, 'policing' the verge.
You are right about the effects 'real' poetry has on one's pitiful efforts; I keep mine well hidden, but then they are not as accomplished as this one of yours is.
That TFE! Always chooses the same lines I would've to comment on. Great minds.... Anyway, I love this presence of the first morning light. There's a certain peace and possibility interwoven in it. Thank you Weaver.
I, too, am partial to the snuffling and the verge - aren't words grand? Very nicely done, Weaver, so nice I read it twice!
I'd like to add some superlatives.
I like your poem better than most I have read by Ted Hughes.
Lucy
Even though there are no hedgehogs or rooks (we do have crows)we surly get that first orange blade when morning climbs over the far mountains. I felt and saw your morning, Weaver.
"I do firmly believe that in order to write well one has to read, read, and read again."
I agree completely.
I like the poem. If only I were brave enough to try.
lovely poem, I can see that barn owl so clearly.
You're very right that to write well you need to read as much as you can...
Loved the description of the rooks. The whole poem brought the morning alive with delightful imagery.
Heather - include me in that comment - but it is good for us isn't it?
Thanks Ann.
Titus - I am still reeling.
Thanks for the comments everyone - I am off to read all your poems now.
i have no poetic credentials,
but i find this poem to be
perfect
WOW ~ fantastic imagery and wonderfully done!
I won't forget a snuffling hedgehog anytime soon ;)
Very rich and descriptive, Weaver. I don't believe you have a nutmeg brain at all!
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