The Wind and I, a poem for September

The Wind And I


I battled the wind to work today,
A friendly little bout.
No doubt I won and won quite fair,
His fingers ruffled my well-combed hair
But I won without a doubt.

He called upon his friend the rain,
To help out with the match
Far too late to change his fate,
The result never was under debate
This was, and is my patch.

After rain the heavy brigade
And now here comes the hail.
Solid chunks of ice came sparring,
Joined the fray; set teeth a jarring
But it was all to no avail.

At this he became so angry
He blew up quite a storm.
Thunder, lightening, nothing spared
For damage done he little cared.
I watched eyes full of scorn.

Such a frightening temper tantrum
The like you never saw.
But I kept calm, and would not flinch
I would not budge, no not an inch
His attitude? Shock and awe.

After this he calmed right down
Embarrassed by my scorn.
The damage done, no going back,
No way to take a different tack,
His locks had now been shorn.

His strength abated, the sun returned
The spoiled child was done.
Gentle breezes plied the air
He almost wished he wasn’t there,
A new day had begun.

This is probably the first time I have written a poem with a five lined verse or stanza (aka quintain). Not sure how it came about but I had the first two lines in the first stanza and also the 4th and 5th lines. I couldn't figure out to to put them together, until I decided to complete the stanza with a line rhyming with the second line. It's good to try something different, yes?

In fact, I had just updated a Squidoo lens that I wrote explaining how a poem entitled the wind had been written. I completed the lens with pictures and information on the New Orleans disaster. The update was to add the issues with hurricane Isaac, this year (almost to the day) causing new fears for the residents of New Orleans. Luckily this year the flooding was far less severe.

More daily poems

This has been more fun than I imagined. Not really making the one a day, but the average is good. Seems like I have to have the opportunity in order to write. Note to myself: need to create this opportunity and provide thte time.

Well I have another three and I am very happy with these so lets get right down to the nitty gritty:

25^th June

A Healing Circle

 Round and round and round we go

Follow the path, all we need to know.

Find the centre that’s the plan,

Return again a better man.

Round and round and round we’re yet

Upon a path ordained, it’s set

From here to there and then return.

A healing circle, look and learn.

Round and round and round we walk.

The path is clear, no need to talk.

It spirals in, then out again.

A healing prayer to ease the pain.

My wife and I visited a “Garden of Well-Being” inGloucestershire, called Matara. The gardens have been designed to create a sense of calmness, and contain elements of Japanese (Zen garden) and Celtic traditions (mazes or labrynths). The double spiral is a common form of the single route labrynth and is called here a healing circle. The idea being that you walk forward to get to the centre and by keeping going in the same direction you reach the exit, a different exit of course.

I started to write this lying in bed in the hotel we stayed in for two days visiting two wonderful gardens. It was very early and most of it came to me without too much conscious thought but I had to write it down before I forgot it. At 5.00 a.m. this would have been a distinct possibility.

The first verse came out in one go. The second verse was a little more difficult to find and in fact it nearly did not get written. I wrote the third verse after the first and thought that the poem was complete but after a little break decided to add another verse. The second line of the last verse originally read:

" It spirals in, it spirals out."

However, rhyming with “out” was difficult and so came up with the alternative seen above.

The last verse eventually appeared, still using the same repetition as the other verses for the first line. The rhyming couplet gave me a little trouble, which is why the second line is a little stilted The word order being a little unnatural although not unforgivingly so.

The third line also took two attempts, firstly:

“From here to there and back again”

The lack of a suitable rhyme again led me to change to a slightly different tack.

When a lyric or poem “falls” out on to the paper quickly, without needing too much concentration on my part, I often find that it is one of my favourites. Although it is only days since this was written, I believe this will be the case with this poem. I must admit to being quite pleased with it.

25^th June

As in a dream!

I am so glad that I did get up and write the last poem down. When I got back in bed I was obviously on overdrive and another poem came very quickly to mind. Again it did not need much work from me, the lines coming very easily. This time I did not write the poem down straightaway, I allowed myself to drop off to sleep – and of course later on upon reawakening, I had completely forgotten it. I remembered that I had completed it but could not even remember the theme or subject of the poem except that it was something to do with the visit of the day before. Just like a dream it had evaporated completely.

A warning to get ideas down on paper as soon as possible and whatever you are doing.

26^th June

The Black Tower

A calming scene of luscious green

A tangled woody bower,

A colourful riot before one’s eyes

And then afar a tower.

The tower is in black stone built,

The local stone is sand,

I cannot help but wonder why

The builder made this stand.

The crenellations ‘round the top

Add to the mystery

Like a castle on a hill top proud.

The man a dreamer, he.

Was it a show of daring-do

Or was there a special reason?

But either way, to travellers’ eyes

It stands out all year, each season.

A photo of a distant tower seen at Old Sodbury, Gloucestershire. I was struck by the colour of it as we drove by. Virtually all other buildings were in the oolitic limestone common to the Cotswold area. In fact the councils will not allow any other materials to be used for new buildings in an effort to maintain the scenic beauty of this wonderful location.

I have very little to say about this poem, it being another one that came out very easily. Again, the last verse was written before the final verse but not an uncommon issue, I would guess. In the third verse above the third and fourth lines have been changed, the originals being:

“Looking to all who pass it by

Like a castle, there to see”

I am very glad that I took a few seconds to change it.

 Oh yes, crenellations are the shapes of the rectangular, protective devices seen around the battlements and towers of a castle. A note on the tower from Wikipedia:-

There is a crenellated tower on the escarpment immediately above and to the East of the village, resembling a rook chesspiece, visible from the main road, that performs the function of a ventilation shaft (the first of six) for the Chipping Sodbury Tunnel, on the main railway line from South Wales, via Bristol Parkway to London Paddington). These shafts were designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel for the Great Western Railway, which runs through the village and under the hill above it.

Actually I am going to call it a day for this post there, I will post the third poem in my next posting.