-
What a dance
Snow flakes fell every day
that I reclined sick
indoors watching them
probe
limbo
from the red chair
but still they
barely
fill the wrinkles
of ground I walk
after all that lying down
not having been able
to rest
themselves
being blown
continuously
around
like thoughts
that don’t
murmur
beyond seeds
Something
has happened
in the night while I
lay
sleepless and warm
walnut leaves lie coupled
stiffly
around the silent
chicken yard
bucks have rubbed
diadems
on the social thrift
of sumac
thistle heads toppled
and surrendered bladders
of silk
the fallen tree
is piled in half-chopped logs
like stacks of half-
read books
poke berries shine
like deer pellets
and deer pellets shine
like poke berries
the frozen white platter
of the pond
bears black marks
that twirl and slide
jump and land
such tiny paws
and large hooves
tied together
by claw-dragged lines
What a dance it must have been
for each one
going after the mystery
in their own way
Listen to a podcast of this poem here.
-
-
54 comments:
Wow Ruth! I could picture that so clearly! Wonderful!!
This is terrific, Ruth, just terrific! It rises and rises before reaching that wonderful last exclamation: "What a dance it must have been for each one going after the mystery in their own way."
I have written a book on the Gaelic history of my family. I think your last lines (quoted above) would have been great to place on the frontispiece. While your poem is speaking of the dance of nature's elements, it made me think of all of the ancestors who came before me, each of them going after the mystery in his or her own way. Perhaps it's just a Christmas thought.
To have the peace of mind to lie back and let these thoughts and impressions enter into being is enviable.
It is a lovely poem about a minute fraction of world yet it encompasses all of life.
Oh, that was such a joy to read! Absolutely wonderful, Ruth.
Hah, a wonderful, delirious dance!
Beautiful poem.
Funnily enough I posted a poem on snowfall today; not a patch on yours though.
Glad you are feeling better, but wow to produce something like this when you are feeling ill - I'm impressed! Such visualization!
...I won't ever share my thoughts and grumpy mood while I am sick in bed. Or afterwards, when the laundry is piled high and kitchen a mess. You are amazing, your words dancing together on a page creating such beauty...
I hope you will get better for Christmas.
So in synch... I was just reading your poem aloud to Dad, and somewhere far away, and yet so near, you were writing about mine :)
Are you sick? Feel better soon!! Me, I'm out of the chair too (for now) xxx
This is fabulous.
Just fabulous.
(and I hope you are feeling better? )
off to listen to your voice ....
Great piece, the perfect way to start my day!
This time I think I go for a hot chocolate.....
It is snowing here JUST a little bit, but hail and black ice will be soon here too.
A wonderful poem, snow is one of the wonders of nature, arn't there only 9 ice cristals that make the snow.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow#Forms
Things like that fascinate me.
Have a wonderful day.
♥ Kathy, thank you for that!
You made me see every little thing. "...the frozen white platter of the pond"...nice.
So glad you're feeling more like yourself, sweetie.
Oh thank you, George. I took this walk yesterday morning. Everything was so quiet, not even the sound of birds, or the sight of them. I almost felt that the Rapture had taken place. :)
It is an honor that you'd think of this poem for your special Gaelic family history. Maybe for a second printing? ;-) But it really means a lot to me that my connection with Nature conjured your connection with your ancestors, because I decidedly want to envision us humans as one with Nature, always. I'm also encouraged that this Christmas thought was a positive one for you, after our blog discussions of late, here at mine, at Robert's and at yours, about the onslaught of Christmas commercialism. We can reach down to the meaning of mystery, even in this holiday time; it just takes some silence and reflection.
Friko, thank you, my friend. To be clear, the poem came after the illness, yesterday, after I felt like a new person and I badly needed a walk outdoors. I'm glad you saw the poem in a universal way.
Robert, thank you so much!
Hard to believe we still haven't had the snow you've gotten there in the UK.
Lakeviewer, thank you, it was delirious in my mind and poem anyway, and I have the license. :)
Cait, thank you very much. Your snowfall poem is very beautiful, and I love feeling that connection with you in Wales, via our love of winter, and being inspired to write poems about it.
Pat, thank you, my traveling friend. Let me be clear though, I wrote this after I felt better. I had nothing in me to write a poem when I was sick. When I went for a walk yesterday, I found a quiet and changed world from the last time I walked out there . . .
Mmmmmm.... I always feel so relaxed when I come visit your blog! Thank you for that gift. No snow in my part of Iowa yet.
I think this might be my favorite. Just lovely. I have lain on the sofa in a daze, too sick to even push the buttons on the TV remote and watched the tiny oak leaves float past the windows, but I would love to see a snowfall. I lived in Pennsylvania the year my daughter was born and buddled her and myself up for a walk such as you describe each morning. Such a magical time for me.
So beautiful. I can hear the rhythm of the wintry forest in your words!!
Ruth, stopping in to say hello and Happy Holidays to you and your family. As you already know from Boots and Astrid we have snow here, Im a couple hours from them to the east.Its been darn right bitter and icey. Ive read everyones blog and enjoyed them! Such lovely pictures and and stories. Its a the taste of home I needed. Stay warm and safe.
Julie in Holland :) Oh yea Congrats to Boots on her card being renewed. Great news ! :)
Poems of nature are my favorite perhaps because they describe the indescribable or the often described in a more beautiful way...and yours are among the best...This poem took me walking with you as well as your photos do. (Did I use the word "well" correctly here?)
I am glad to hear that you are feeling better...
I'm so sorry you were so ill and glad that you are now better. What is it about the first outing after an illness that sharpens our observation skills into overdrive? Your poem is vivid, crisp, invigorating.
Sorry you have been ill, and glad you are feeling better now.
Another lovely post :)
So nice to see you are podcasting! I've missed blogging but am back and enjoying you as always!
I like your poems that sound spontaneous, like a sudden dance.
It's a season of mystery indeed... i love your way with words and images, and of course, your life on the farm and in synch with nature is idyllic. I'm sure it contributes to your poetic mind. Hope you're feeling better by now and thanks for a haven of rest you've prepared here in your blog. I too am dwelling on poetry lately, in our urban chaos. So much more meaningful to find a piece of quiet here.
A wonderful poem/picture of wintry magic. I like the idea of each "going after the mystery in their own way."
Margaret, thank you. I don't get sick often, thankfully, but these days, if I don't get anything done, no one is relying on me. Don is self sufficient. But you have a big family that relies on you!
Ann, thanks so much. I feel great now.
Shaista, cross poem pollinating? :)
I'm not sick now, just a three day cold. I'm glad you are out of the chair, and I wish you beautiful days of rest and pleasure.
Hello, Deb. Thank you for such a kind comment. Yes, I am totally fine now, it was a short but intense cold.
Hi, Gwei Mui, that's great, thank you!
Hello, Astrid, I wonder if you have had more snow than we have. It wouldn't take much, because we have had hardly any. It just hasn't lasted on the ground. I had not heard that about 9 ice crystals making snow. Is there anything wiki doesn't have an article about?
Susie, thank you, my friend. You had the big cruddy cold first. Please stay healthy through the holidays.
Judy, that is very nice. Thank you so much. If you want snow, I hope you'll get it.
Shari, what a sweet and beautiful image of you and your baby girl going out into winter for a walk. Fresh cold air is a wonderful, welcome feeling after being sick.
Thank you, Marcie. Is there anything prettier than a woods filled up with snow?
Hi, Julie, welcome to my blog as a commenter! It's been terrific meeting you, and knowing you are from Michigan, living in Holland like Boots. Yes, you got snow before us, which is strange.
Yes, it's happy news about Bootsie's card!
Oliag, thank you, what a kind thing to say.You used "well" correctly, yes. Well I think so anyway. :)
Dutchbaby, I like them three words. A lot. Just like I liked my walk in the vivid, crisp and invigorating air.
Thanks a bunch, Babs!
Jane, oh thanks! It's good to see you back.
Dusti, this not only sounds spontaneous, it was spontaneous. :)
Hi, Arti. I do feel better, thank you very much. It seems as though more of us are turning to poetry these days. I hadn't thought about it being related to the chaos, which perhaps is growing, or at least feels that way.
Barb, thank you for that. Each of them does it without thinking about it. Me, I think too much!
I so love these direct, minimalist natural poems - and especially hearing you read them! Hope you are feeling better. (We have gotten almost no measurable snow all year, maybe some tonight.)
Thanks, Loring! I feel much better, thank you. Yeah, we're supposed to get snow this weekend too. We'll see. We have about 1/4 inch now. :)
I am working up the courage to read your no-doubt-excellent article on the Commoditization of Crazy Music. ;-) Actually, I just want the space and time to devote my full attention to it.
Hello to Carol!
bucks have rubbed
diadems
on the social thrift
of sumac
thistle heads toppled
and surrendered bladders
of silk
the fallen tree
is piled in half-chopped logs
like stacks of half-
read books
These lines are particularly gorgeous, although it's unjust to single them out from the rest. Ruth, that you can write like this when you're sick, or at least recuperating, confirms to me that you're just brimming with this kind of beauty and that it pours out of you naturally. The stars and the planets have be lined up just so for me to even get to writing....
Hope ytou're feeling much better, and please please, I hope you are compiling your poetry for publication.
Dear Deborah, you are so terribly kind to me, thank you. I don't know what has happened, but lately I seem to want to say anything I say in a poem. It means so much to me that it meets you in your heart.
love
Post a Comment