skip
stones in your eyes,
wade
past the shallow parts.
There
is no need for old north boats,
since
we have uncovered
our
own safe passage.
Baggage
drowns in the current;
a
selkie dons my wedding veil,
wonders
at so many shoes.
Spoon
the rest of the journey;
give
in to the tug of gravity,
the
low ache that drops like stone.
A
stormy berth is best, even though
you
are too civilized for thunder.
tk/August 2013
Thanks to R.A.D. Stainforth, taking time from his holiday in Shetland to read this poem.
 |
| photo by Elena Kalis |
Love reading everyone's imagination on the photos. Wonderful and creative.
ReplyDeleteTo me, Tess, your words take me way beyond the photo. Each word is simply perfect. It does transport me to that last scene in Shakespeare In Love.
ReplyDeleteWhat a storyteller you are.
love these lines:
ReplyDeletea selkie dons my wedding veil,
wonders at so many shoes.
Wonderfully imaginative
so wonderful...!
ReplyDeletethis is lovely, Tess!
ReplyDeletevery nice...love the first stanza, esp 'skip stones in your eyes"
ReplyDeleteLoved the way you worked in the centuries-old search for the Northwest Passage - and it fit beautifully.
ReplyDeleteLovely ... selkie folklore is fascinating .. love how you wove it into your poem.
ReplyDeleteWell this one just topples me over.
ReplyDeleteafloat in imagery.
ReplyDeletea real treat.
There is something about "the shallow parts" that keeps on circling around my thoughts... I wonder...
ReplyDelete"...Wade through the shallow parts..." It's what I did here, to find--reading another comment, having found the NW Passage was a part of it all. Hmmm!
ReplyDeleteYou da poet-girl!
nicely done Tess...thanks
ReplyDeleteThere is no need for old north boats,
ReplyDeletesince we have uncovered
our own safe passage.
Often the case as with alternatives. One chooses the path that is already made easy with facilities provided! Nicely Tess!
Hank
Goodnes this is powerful/lovely...and a selkie too....wonderful...each line mgave that 'ooh' reaction, the words jousting like they did.
ReplyDeleteWas a pleasure to read.
Wonderful Tess - I wish I was gifted with your thought process.
ReplyDeleteAnna :o]
Nice images. Especially like the stormy berth.
ReplyDeleteA selkie donning that veil.....imagery perfection!
ReplyDeleteI could feel the waves and the sounds from a distant shore urging them on! Beautiful!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed all the images but, I really liked the first stanza..so much to like in this one.
ReplyDeletewow, very vivid! awesome writing
ReplyDeleteLove the closing lines! Very vivid loved it =)
ReplyDeleteAlas, I wish I was so civilized.
ReplyDeleteLike sheltering behind the force shield of battlefield earth .....
ReplyDeleteDo I detect interior meanings? Hmmph!
ReplyDeleteOh course you do, Mrs.T. Tess is cunning with her metaphors.
ReplyDeleteThe last line was the most powerful to me. Amazingly written.
ReplyDeleteMy heart is sailing these days and this is just perfect addition to the thrill. Marvelous.
ReplyDeleteI, too, love the selkie line! The reading is magnificent. Beautiful, again, Tess.
ReplyDelete"Spoon the rest of the journey"....oh how your words paint amazing colors never seen! :-)
ReplyDeleteThis is a very layered poem. The more I read it, the more images come into my mind.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for your kind comments, dear friends...
ReplyDeleteWhat would a selkie do with shoes? Very nice...
ReplyDelete