Friday, January 21, 2011

Mississippi Sandhill Crane Refuge (2011)


Where the grass trail runs savanna gold in winter's mood
the trunks quiver as silver ghosts on trees at solid rest,
so tranquil above the blue water veins of Castille Bayou
and the only sound if you stand stone still is quiet breath

measured in time by the distant shrieks of hiding kestrels.
Here the plants are yellowgold pitchers of deadly nectar
that the summer flies are not scaled to fathom but willed
to a slow leeched death as salts dissolve in season's fare.

Here cypress roots wrap to jealousy around liveoak
and never never let go were tight love to drop its leaves
without the thrust of a season to guide the acorn's arc
in a close embrace that will sometimes clush the skies.

Left on the table cut glass is an emerald found apart,
scattered to crown the picnic leaf in aptly lying art.

18 comments:

  1. Wonderful. Gorgeous, clever, subtle rhyme. The enjambment at the end of the first stanza is brilliant-- the white space between "breath" and "measured" says something about sound and distance. So beautifully done.

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  2. @Megan: Cheers. Sort of a sonnet but not quite. I got a little tired of rhymes and decided to play with near-rhymes and assonance instead. One more 'Road Sonnet', I guess. In the words of Bob Marley 'We be enjambing'. Ha!

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  3. In the words of Vazambam, "We be enjoying, too"!

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  4. It is a sonnet Gerry but you don't slavishly follow the usual schemes. Some lovely lyrical lines there inspired by nature!

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  5. And the sonnetman returns! Great near endrhymes.

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  6. @vazambam: thanks for the read mr. v and for enjoying too.

    @Antononioni: Yes. Thanks you, my dear sonnet inspiration. I can barely touch the form without thinking of onions now!

    @Gordon Mason: Yes, I thought that phase had passed and bam! back in the saddle. If you like sonnets, track down Mr. Antonionioni's blog. A sonnet a day and still growing strong. Ah, the stamina of youth!

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  7. 'Assonance' indeed...A nice one! Subtle mention of colors again...with a true feel and a thorough touch of desire and reality...:) Great one!
    Keep blogging...

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  8. @Fiducia: Cheers. I tried to mess with the consonants too but I can never remember the terms. Hey, I be an ama-tour. Ha!

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  9. BTW, if any wants to see photos of what inspired this, see

    http://astralnomads.blogspot.com/2011/01/elusiveness-of-sandhill-crane.html

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  10. Gerry, I nominated you for a Stylish Blog Award so head on over to my blog to see what it's all about.

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  11. Jealous. Of. Your. Life.
    It's -11 degrees outside of my house right now! I have to write just to keep my mind from freezing over.

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  12. @Matt D: Thanks for the read. And the reaction. Ha!

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  13. I'm-a-lovin' those jealous cypress roots.

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  14. Hey there there is a competition here
    http://saturdayscream.blogspot.com/

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  15. You, an 'ama-tour'?? Heights of modesty huh?? You can actually publish your works Gerry, I think you should think about it..:)

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  16. @Fiducia: I'm pretty sure I can claim that status without modesty, high or low. I appreciate your encouragement. I love Berryman's response to Merwin's "How do you know if you're any good?" "You'll never now if you're any good. If you have to know, don't write". Merwin captured that in the great poem 'Berryman'.

    http://writersalmanac.publicradio.org/index.php?date=2003/09/30

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Yes?