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| @skyloverpoetry Poetry Reading on Instagram |
I will leave
with the leaf torn
lying fallen, damper
than mist’s grave silence
winds from this flowery bed.
I will implant with tears
my grim March
driven mad with the stench
of mud and marigolds.
An Autumnal Dirge for Magaly's Weekend Challenge: Homographic Fun
This is achingly beautiful in its description and word choices, Kerry!❤️ I loved your reading of this gem on Instagram!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Sanaa. I am loving the unusual circumstance of having time on my hands to do a little bit extra with my pieces.
DeleteI love the entire poem from title picture and body. A breathtaking vision painted of the loss of life, yet new life.
ReplyDeleteWhen we think we can't go on, we find we must.. the march of life leaves no one behind.
DeleteThanks, Carrie.
May I marry your use of "grave" and "march" and "tear"? Please! I'm doing a serious amount of squealing as I read and reread this poem. I picture the speaker leaving and tearing and probably gluing things with tears... The madness is beautiful and stinks deliciously of spring.
ReplyDeleteI included so many homophone/homonyms that not even I know what it all means any longer. But I loved the prompt and will use your list again.
DeleteThe stench of mud and marigold is just a stellar way of writing about a grave... excellent sorrow in this.
ReplyDeleteThe grave of the summer season in this case. Thanks, Bjorn. i am glad you enjoyed this one.
DeleteI love the stech of marigold and mud...being a gardener, these words ring true to me. The late summer rains and the deadheads of marigolds is such an unforgettable smell.
ReplyDeleteI am a very erratic gardener, but I do love being in the presence of growing things.
DeleteBeautiful homographing ... and furthermore the poem far transcends the prompt.
ReplyDeleteHow very kind of you, Rosemary. Of course, without the prompt it would not have been written so I am grateful for the inspiration.
DeleteNice writing, Kerry. I don't read many poems from you as DOWN as this one. I'm not good at puns, but perhaps you could take it down?
ReplyDelete..
Most of my poems are downers, Jim.
DeleteThis is a gorgeous dirge, Kerry. I admire the way you’ve played with leaf, tear and grave, the hint at March madness and the stench of mud and marigolds. The alliterative repetition of ‘l and ‘m’ creates a wonderful soundscape of mourning and I can imagine that leaf, ‘damper than mist’s grave silence’. You've packed so much into a little leafy poem!
ReplyDeleteAlso damper, lying, winds, implant and march. LOL!
DeleteThanks, Kim. The alliteration happened naturally as I was writing so I ran with it.
What a glorious wordplay! I have already read it thrice pronouncing and breaking it differently and I am sure I have still missed out on something. My favourite bit would be this: "damper/than mist’s grave silence/winds from this flowery bed." Love how "winds" and "grave" in particular add into the text and its subtexts. :-)
ReplyDeleteThank you, Anmol. I am glad you were able to get several layers of meaning out of these lines.
DeleteThe stench of mud and marigolds....marvelous!
ReplyDeleteI'm dreading the day I have to pull up all my marigolds and wait again to reseed the bed in spring.
DeleteSo conscious of the opposite poles here--and so interesting. The mud and marigolds a very vivid combination of scents--grave-like and so full of life.
ReplyDeleteA really interesting and evocative poem, Kerry. k.
I appreciate your feedback. I love how you read the final line.
DeleteGorgeous, Kerry. The image of the mud and the marigolds is intriguing.
ReplyDeleteI read this in light of Merwin's passing, and find no better words than yours ~
ReplyDeleteThank you for that, Michael. Another loss to the world of poetry.. our post modern writers reaching the end of their time. I do not know if my words are worthy, but I continue to drop my pennies into the well.
Deletedamper than mist’s grave silence
ReplyDeletewinds from this flowery bed
There seems to be a grim picture of wanting to do good but stifled somehow. Great word craft Kerry!
Hank
Such a wonderful poem!! You captured it all with your words.
ReplyDelete