Sunday 19 July 2009

Is it a good idea

to post a poem I've written a very short time ago? I certainly wouldn't submit one to a magazine unless it had been hidden for a week or two and been through several redrafts.

However, here's a poem written in a few minutes last night after reading Coastcard's comment that she would like to hear more about Norfolk. A line added to it this morning when I woke to the call of it in my head. (I'll let you guess which one it was....) The clichés are, of course, entirely intentional. And I expect I'll edit it when I start typing it below... Can't resist!


Norfolk Poppies

They seem to grow uninvited now,
bright distractions amongst our daily bread,
scarlet skirts fluttering, flouncing in the sun,
creating lawless charges through the fields
yet managing to damage scarcely anything at all.
Their fecklessness wipes a smile across a stuffy day,
and scatters taste across the table as, despite ourselves,
we take our hungry bites from poppy-seeded bread.


Image copied from www.freefoto.com

7 comments:

Crafty Green Poet said...

I enjoyed reading this poem. I think it is a good idea to post a poem very recently written. I've done it a lot in response to prompts from sites like Read Write Poem where you only have a week turnaround to produce and share the poem. The advantage is you can share your draft on your blog and then polish it up and retitle it and then get it published soemwhere else.

Caroline Gill said...

I have really enjoyed reading this too, and particularly since I find I feel in some way responsible for the post!!!

Your line about wiping the smile is so fresh - we usually think of wiping OFF a smile or wiping tears - and you have resisted this temptation.

Thank you, Carol, for sharing this warm and radiant slice of Norfolk with us all - ah, a pang of homesickness on my part!

Susan Richardson said...

Lovely for me to read a Norfolk poem too, Carol, having just come back from my 'retreat' there!

Hope to see you at Polyverse - will you be there for the whole festival?

Mistlethrush said...

Thanks for your comments ladies. I've hidden the poem now so will get it back out at some later date.

Yes, I'm planning on being at Polyverse for more or less the whole event. Look forward to meeting you and listening to you on read on Saturday.

The Weaver of Grass said...

I love this poem Carol. I agree with Juliet - sharing a poem and getting responses is always helpful.

Jinksy said...

I love to see the 'hot of the presses' poetry - it's a good test of ones own editorial skills, for a start, should they be deemed necessary. This is not a 'dig'at your Poppies Poem, but a thought that struck me earlier whilst reading a very sad example of bad poetry on a blog which will remain nameless!

Mistlethrush said...

Thanks for the comments ladies and I look forward to more.

from the field book

from the field book
An inspiring gift for anyone who enjoys watching nature.