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Monday, November 14, 2011

November's Pantomime



Now on earth’s weathered cheek her teardrops lie
A golden trace of autumn in her eye
And now the wind, a king stripped of its throne
Drifts through this cold and barren world alone
Now folds the lily-cup her waxen lips
Denying vagrant bees, their final sips
While multi-layered skies in purple-blue
Rivet the eye to heaven’s avenue

Now restless feet slow-dance to melodies
Of somber beat and sun-drenched memories
And now the valiant seed of summer sleeps
Where Time in numbered breaths its vigil keeps
The meadow-stream carries with purposed stride
A metaphor of moments in its tide
While humble hearts, like spectators of Time
Watch the unfolding of life’s pantomime

And now the boy of spring becomes a man
As ruddiness imbues the cheek of tan
Now earth receives its draught of umber-gold
Preparing for the thrust of winter’s cold
As nature pens its solemn madrigal
And slips its fingers through each heart and soul
Mankind acknowledges his depth of need
…for now the summer flower has run to seed

Janet Martin

In a matter of days the trees
went from gold-leaf canopy
to bare and naked.

the sky followed suite...
from pure azure to dull gray



13 comments:

  1. Wow, Janet. One of your best. Thank you for “madrigal.” I had to look it up, but it should be in ever poet’s toolbox. Supposedly, an ode is a long poem in praise of something or someone. I don’t know if this qualifies as a ‘long poem,’ but I believe it should qualify as an ode to autumn.

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  2. Mike, I thank you so much for continuing to support me and give me confidence. I saw the prompt on Saturday but was kept busy until today, where I decided to play hooky on housework for a little while. I walked outside and the inspiration for this poem was instant...i like it when it happens that way:) and yes, I do like the word 'madrigal'. I can't remember where I first 'un-earthed' it...I might look up 'ode' and see if it qualifies.

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  3. We are enjoying a pretty mild November (so far) only one small dusting of snow after the big storm in the Eastern USA a couple of weeks ago. I am so not looking forward to winter.
    Your piece is lovely, so full of the cold, grey of winter, yet, has the promise of spring too.

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  4. I share your feelings for winter, but I keep telling myself its good to have a 'rest' just like the earth. Fall's been quite nicely extended here, every snow-less day a bonus. We had one snowy day last Friday but it didn't last.

    Thank-you for visiting and for your kind thoughts.

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  5. Both are beautiful and vivid, Janet.

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  6. A beautiful poem of season's ending...there are so many delightful phrases in this piece....Now folds the lily-cup her waxen lips
    Denying vagrant bees, their final sips...wonderful wording...

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  7. Susie,
    Thank-you for your visit and your kind words.

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  8. I liked the breadth of this poem. Very expansive. Well done. - Moskowitz

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  9. Winter in america is cold and I just keep getting older.

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  10. Yes, compared to you guys we're cold...but we keep getting older here as well;)

    Today is a balmy 10 degrees and I'm loving it! I'm headed back out.

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I hope you enjoyed your pause on this porch and thank-you for your visit!