PUT YOUR EAR INTO THE FLOOD

A poem I have been working on for some time this post. It was prompted by the allotment flooding again. I struggled with the second half. I knew what I wanted to say but could not find the words to say it.

The water is rising

but the river is full.

Now it crosses the allotment,

causes a uniform flatness

that ripples under the wind.

Put your ear into the flood,

there is excitement here – change comes.

The enforced idleness of

the imprisoning ice is ending.

The rising sea will recover lost land.

This is definitely a work in progress. I am not sure about the last line- can the ocean recover lost land? The ocean is the water rather than the ground and I am not at all convinced the last line works. 

This week at the Juncture 25 workshop the task was to write a self-portrait as a sonnet.  I did not like my attempt and have ripped up the form.

Selfie in Light and Darkness

The magpie told me,  

the purpose of this life was to choose,

but when I look in the mirror I see my father,

maybe more hair, less lines, but him.

I want to say to the magpie

I’m in it for the poems,

but he knows that already,

and I have to describe the creature I see.

Part light, the rest darkness,

it’s the percentages that count.

I’m not saying.

That’s it for this post. I’d like to hear your opinions about the work in progress. I shall post an interview with the amazingly talented Emily Faye McCoy. Not only is she a fantastically talented poet but she has a book of her travels out. I shall leave you with Serafina Steer.