(with apologies to Wallace Stevens and his Snowman) The Scarecrow Mutely standing in a field of fallow stubble, bending on the loam, one’s mind is a business of musing the morning sun to rise. Bold mice scurry through holes in boots, tickling would-be toes of would-be feet and climbing through knees of overalls that, overall have seen brighter days. Sparrows puff from red flannel seams-- brown-feathered breath calling to starling hands that wish to rub pale straw moths from hollow sockets that stare the stars from the sky. One has hopes of scaring someone--anyone--and listens without ears to hear all that is not there and the one thing that is.
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I love that you are reading your work. Enjoyed!
Thanks, Audra–I keep telling myself that at some point I will finish out this month’s-worth of readings even though the month is long gone. We’ll see…
John,
You paint a brilliant picture with this one. And then there is this thought that’s always on my mind lately:
“all that is not there”
Well done. Thanks for reading to me.
Alice
Again more negative space, non?
Thank you Alice–
🙂
Ooooohhh, I love this one. Love what is there and what isn’t in so many ways. I’m a farm girl through and through, but underneath that, I’m a poetry girl. Thanks!
Thank you, Jillanne! Finally catching up on my comments.
Beautiful – the imagery is so alive, and then the impact of the ideas at the end – really nice. These poem things just keep pouring out, it seems!
Thank you Lynn. These are mostly from the past couple of years, many periods of which were much more fecund than now. Just gone through a rather dry spell that is turning into a trickle, but so many big things looming in my life at the moment that we’ll see if it lasts. My mind needs much space to write and it’s chock-full of too much of late.
I understand and I hope the dry spell doesn’t give you too much pause. Sounds like you hardly have time to wonder about it, much. It’s hard not to be busy sometimes, between what life throws you, and the speed of life in general. Yes, space is nice for the creative process!
We’re having a severe heat wave – day after day of over 90 degree temps, which for here is very unusual. What I notice is that there’s this wonderful (to me) effect of a forced slow down. One just thinks about how to get through the day in the most basic ways, rather than dwelling on all the problems and questions and tasks. A different kind of vacation.
🙂 gotta add my love for this, JCC. Stevens has been a favorite since AP english in high school…and that poem specifically. Offer no apologies – its lovely.
Thanks so much Mims–
Stevens is one of those poets whom I rarely understand, really, and yet that is I think part of what I love so much–the depths that are always there, waiting for us to come back and take another dip. I have been trying to memorize The Snowman for some time now. It’s a tricky beast.
So good to hear from you! Are you back in the world of WP more regularly? I will pop by your place and see what’s up soon–
🙂 as you see by the timing of my response…not so much. I am trying. Really. How are you?
Well, I’ve much more free time now. A lot of big changes for us. Lost our lease. Shut down both our businesses (the café and the catering company). Moved our home. Got a J-O-B. It’s been a bit rough. I’m losing my hair from stress-induced alopecia. The stress is mostly over now (we’ve been in the new place since August and I’ve been at the new job for a month or so now) but the hair just keeps coming out in handfuls. Which of course is a bit stressful, which….
I think the stress was killing us both anyway, so this is ultimately a good change. Just taking a bit of getting used to.
I’m considering trying to get some things published. As my life hopefully settles into a bit more of a routine.
Hope you are well, and yes, I hope you can find the time to post here again soon. I truly enjoy reading your words.
But if not, oh, yes, I get it. Life happens. And sometimes, life won’t let anything else happen….
So good to hear from you–