Ink-whispers

Poetic Bloomings invites us to use a line from a favorite poem/poet as a springboard for a new poem

I chose John Clare and the first line of the poem The Progress of Rhyme

Oh, soul-enchanting poesy

Like laugh-lines on the face of Time

How barren wert life without rhyme

Nothing can take thy youth from thee

The poet with lost thought must roam

To bridle from the teeming air

Color and sound, passion and prayer

To fashion them into a poem

Though ill may spill its cup of woe

And stir the burr of want in Her

Oh, soul-enchanting slip-and-slur

You soothe the chill when ill winds blow

How fine the favor of thy gift

You free love’s longing like a bird

Yet bind her close with naught but word

You set a fleet of sighs adrift

…and capture in verse, fantasy

A picture painted with blue ink

Though dusk swaddles the earth in pink

And white caps ride the turquoise sea

Immune art thou to creed or greed

But with a ministerial touch

You breathe away gray days and such

And succor rich or poor man’s need

Oh, soul-enchanting poesy

You uphold joy, a faithful friend

And wave the banner of thought penned

Into hallmarks of poetry

© Janet Martin