22 September 2014

Of Stars and Crabs

Summer sunset stains petal pink waters of Wye,
   swans sail slowly to isles of grand dreams,
willows whisper farewells to the dusk darkening sky,
   rippling purple and sapphire reams.

All is silent awhile cloaked in shadowy sleep,
   rustling reeds rest serenely and still,
’til the hour of the infinite eyes starts to peep,
   speckling gold upon river, wood, hill.

Each sphere turns and some harmony hums through the night,
   casting smiles on most slumbering souls,
but beneath balmy banks steeped in shining star light,
   crabs come crawling from deep hidey-holes.

Scuttling over the shimmering sandgrains ashore,
   clapping claws to the rhythm of time,
swaying shells, tapping toes with a one two three four,
   they spin shapes while presenting this rhyme:

‘In our homes, in our hearts, oh, how happy are we!,
   so we celebrate this in our song,
for our river from source until estuary
   we dance gladly in crusty-coat throng.’

Thus the party parades through to roseswept sunrise,
   then retreats to the depths of the earth,
as the starry sounds cede to the waterbirds cries,
   yet revive nights with musical mirth.


* * *
Just another waltzer; I have enjoyed my afternoon off work!

 <(:-)

Dilwyn

Tap ~ tap ~ tap-tap-tap ~
sticks like feathers, softly flap ~
tap ~ tap ~ tap-tap-tap ~
in the dance from Dil~wyn~

THWACK ~ THWACK ~ THWACK-THWACK-THWACK~
sticks like weapons, loudly crack ~
THWACK ~ THWACK ~ THWACK-THWACK-THWACK~
in the dance from Dil~wyn~

Crabs skip to left and crabs skip to right ~
scuttling the Wye with dance delight ~
crabs skip to left and crabs skip to right ~
in the dance from Dil~wyn~

Repeat Tap and THWACK verses

Stars spin to left and stars spin to right ~
circling the Wye with dance delight ~
stars spin to left and stars spin to right ~
in the dance from Dil~wyn~

Repeat Tap and THWACK verses
Repeat Stars verse
Repeat Tap and THWACK verses
Repeat Crabs verse
Repeat Tap and THWACK verses
Cheer (‘huzzah!’ etc.)


* * *
The P-i-R apologises for her time as ‘P-i-A’ (Poet in Absence) over the summer. Many are the demands of unrelenting masters Work and Ill-Health, resulting in the silence of Creativity, alas. Yet here is one afternoon between projects, between treatments – so to return to Sudeley, if for a brief while.

As Brother Adrian and I neared the Terrace on our first outing, we were met by the joyful sounds of ‘Dilwyn’, recognised from previous performances. Here’s Happenstance’s 2011 Cotswold Beer Festival performance on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rG_LmJG7Os

The Dilwyn tune is one of my favourites to date, and its structure and rhythms inspire this simple poem. I perform using iambic tetrameter, but not as strictly as in previous pieces (for example, ‘Isbourne’), sustaining (~) and splitting beats to capture the overall form. Dear Mrs T. was able to enlighten me concerning the choreography, the stars and crabs, and these shapes return in my next piece.


<(:-)