1. Find a ring in the deep well
Midnight. The wire traps spring in the cellar and from the bottom of the thing kidney pell-mell begins to pan spurred by the pool-side shade of Bess Duchess of Lauderdale to sift for her diamonds while Queen Mary uproots everything pink and issues orders from the courtyard to drift for the damask drape of her silk dress and as the night chinks itself dark Picts set down their pick axes kick up sediment swimming sweaty laps while the squirrels in their cages scrabble and shriek kidney peers up knows the ring found when the last diadem of stars the last sliver of medallion moon sets in encircling brick and stone
2. Build a castle in sixty minutes
Morning. The hand bell rings and from bed belly starts its build every gurgle a rung of the stairs down every bubble burp a pour of plaster belly heaves makes doors and windows find their square and knows the castle built when the last of Drummond’s points of lace set stiff around his throat and the first shingle slice of browned bread flung down on pewter plate is smeared with butter
3. Clear a wood of ants in a half-an-hour
Afternoon. Sticks ring on stones and from the height of hill liver begins its sleight of hand turns the may-fly flutter from the stump and sandstone holes into the spite and mayhem of sprites pricking hikers turns the wild garlic limp and musky along the treeline into the sly stalk and snout of foxes snapping at dogs and the brown-red river all its courses and falls they go bloody liver looks out knows the woods empty of ants tenants and trouble when the last toddler wails emergency out of the last window of the last car in the lot
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This poem is based on seeing green man carvings in the Roslyn Chapel and the green man archetype as described by poet William Anderson in his book. I bought a resin copy of the ugliest one and it promptly got us lost in the woods in the way home...
The following links have some good discussions of the green man in art, particularly sacred art (i.e. in cathedrals and churches):
http://www.mikeharding.co.uk/greenman/green1.html
http://www.chrispye-woodcarving.com/greenman/gm_index.html#sites
1 comment:
Glad you've got so much excellent inspiration - yay yay yay! And thrilled to hear about naps! zzz zzz zzz!
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