Meek and nearly sunless the stripe of river
when summer all but fills the backwaters
Oaks overcast a few fixed-focus fishermen
who cast below their piscine hopes with flies
catch sight of perch, barbel and bream
and dream kingfisher blue lightning
sudden thunder and rain beating
time to swan wings overhead
I walk the rhythm of a slow running river
the wayward way of glances bank to bank
watch where mirrored patches briefly peer
in shrouds of bramble, fern and balsam flower
note each beck and call of full fledged birds
and all but drown in vacant backwaters
Joining Paul’s Poetics as he takes us down river
So evocative. And with that flash of kingfisher blue lightning! Wheesh – there he was gone.
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halcyon days Tish!
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What a glorious string of images, tangled and bright 🙂
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lovely comment Jane – thank you
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A wonderful ode to the river and riverbank. The colours, sights and sounds you conjure evoke a timeless quality.I can almost hear the hum of dragonfly here. Thanks for this wonderful addition to the River prompt.
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ah the sight of blue damsels too! irresistible prompt Paul – thank you
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I enjoy walking paths along rivers. I try not to drown in vacant backwaters except for those in which mind gets lost along the way.
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or in the words of Prufrock “til human voices wake us and we drown”
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I so enjoy the gentle rhythm of this piece… it’s so much like a painting or some music… a scene that I can see inside. Lovely.
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thank you for seeing and hearing so much in this
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Such a beautifully mesmerizing poem, Laura! ❤️
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rivers indeed mesmerize me x
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Oh, I like the image at the beginning. And the imagery of your words: “I walk the rhythm of a slow-running river.” Nice. I’ve experienced that pleasantness many times, and your words describe it perfectly.
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making use of my photoart with these poems Beth – we walk different parts of the world with the same feeling 🙂
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Perfect little scene of a lazy river 😉
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reminds me of the Hoagy Carmichael song 😉
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no swans in my life
but the flash of kingfisher – oh yes!
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indeed Diana!
http://www.nemesisbird.com/news/kingfishers-of-south-africa/
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I also remember the day I walked home from work to our flat in Aarau, and joined a group of people united in wonder at the Eisvogel (the German name captures the shimmer and sparkle in a different way)
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