Whirling with Amy

Sep 21

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Each vignette begins with a phrase culled from “The Kingfisher,” by Amy Clampitt.
 


 
~~ 1 ~~
 
poetry is gone—
the miner and the farmer
clench their teeth with toil
 
~~ 2 ~~
 
a downtown churchyard
where old women holding court
leer at three old men
 
~~ 3 ~~
 
A dazzled pub crawl—
what shall we give the barkeeps
for their jollity?
 
~~ 4 ~~
 
pastoral nightfall
under the crossed oak branches
a tryst by moonlight
 
~~ 5 ~~
 
ruined nunnery
celibates used to live here
now skittering mice
 
~~ 6 ~~
 
on Fifty-fifth Street
threading the intersection
with thundering heart
 
~~ 7 ~~
 
a Sunday morning
somewhere across the ocean
where no church bells toll
 
~~ 8 ~~
 
some grizzled spruce bog
where creatures keep to themselves
and no one sees them
 
~~ 9 ~~
 
seeing how his hands
go searching through the haystack
for missing needles
 
~~ 10 ~~
 
stunning tapestry
woven with thread of gold and
the blood of martyrs
 
~~ 11 ~~
 
Through the long evening
one expression recurring—
“You don’t understand.”
 
~~ 12 ~~
 
among its headstones
one in the cemetery
bringing you to mind

 
© 2014 by Magical Mystical Teacher
 
 
More Poetry Pantry #219
 
More The Sunday Whirl, Wordle 179

Posted on September 21, 2014, in 5-7-5, Amy Clampitt, The Poetry Pantry, The Sunday Whirl and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink. 30 Comments.

  1. jae rose | September 21, 2014 at 3:59 am

    What a trip across town..and space and time..and the twelfth..well..a real blinder…

    Reply
  2. Nissa Annakindt | September 21, 2014 at 4:21 am

    “stunning tapestry
    woven with thread of gold and
    the blood of martyrs”

    To use your word, stunning. Love that image. Many of the others were excellent as well the mice in the nunnery, for example.

    Reply
  3. oldegg | September 21, 2014 at 6:12 am

    Great compilation again however No.1 touched me as the romantic fantasy of hard rural work or an exciting but dangerous work as a miner are easily dispelled by a close look at the environment endured.

    Reply
  4. Mary | September 21, 2014 at 6:18 am

    Ah, I enjoyed the mental picture of the three old women leering at the three old men! And I found myself saddened by the long evening of “I don’t understand” as it does not speak well for the relationship of the two. Sigh. And many missing needles in the haystack–a nearly impossible task, I would think. Always fun to see what you come up with.

    Reply
  5. vandana | September 21, 2014 at 6:47 am

    I like all ,so much wisdom

    Reply
  7. ZQ | September 21, 2014 at 7:37 am

    Gosh that moved right along… excellent pictures

    Reply
  8. vivienne blake | September 21, 2014 at 9:59 am

    Some excellent senryu. Favourite: the old women ogling the men

    Reply
  9. annell4 | September 21, 2014 at 10:04 am

    I felt these really took me on a journey….loved them all.

    Reply
  10. janicead | September 21, 2014 at 10:11 am

    Your mind must be so full of poetry just bursting to emerge.

    Reply
  11. Sherry Blue Sky | September 21, 2014 at 12:24 pm

    I love the grizzled spruce bog best! Great collection this week, my friend.

    Reply
  12. Björn Rudberg (brudberg) | September 21, 2014 at 12:50 pm

    I like the needle in haystack.. but all are great

    Reply
  13. Miss Stacy | September 21, 2014 at 2:19 pm

    this is marvelous! so many piece of life coming together here in one place. had to read it several times!

    stacy lynn mar
    http://warningthestars.blogspot.com/

    Reply
  14. scotthastiepoet | September 21, 2014 at 3:17 pm

    Very fresh writing – lots to like here and a real pleasure to read – Thanks… With Best Wishes Scott http://www.scotthastie.com

    Reply
  15. Rallentanda | September 21, 2014 at 7:43 pm

    All good…favourites
    the ruined nunnery now inhabited by skittering mice
    looking for the needles in the haystack

    Reply
  16. Cathy | September 21, 2014 at 8:05 pm

    Great ones, with such emotion in them. 9 reminds me what going on in my area, they are searching a cop killer and it’s been 9 days.

    Reply
  17. Bastet | September 22, 2014 at 12:35 am

    Another great series … I liked:

    a Sunday morning
    somewhere across the ocean
    where no church bells toll

    Reply
    • magicalmysticalteacher | September 22, 2014 at 4:11 am

      That would be in your area of the world? (Impossible, I’d say!)

      Reply
      • Bastet | September 22, 2014 at 9:12 am

        Actually … I was thinking how nice it would be not to hear so many going off on Sunday morning … They start at around 8 and go through until 11 … and as you say, there’s not just one church … Arco has around 10 or so.

        Reply
        • magicalmysticalteacher | September 22, 2014 at 9:37 am

          That’s the way it is in Mexico too! No sleeping in, especially on Sunday mornings, although the bells go off randomly through the night as well.

          On Mon, Sep 22, 2014 at 8:12 AM, Magical Mystical Teacher wrote:

          >

          Reply
          • Bastet | September 22, 2014 at 8:32 pm

            You’ve got it … though for the last decade or so most night bells have been surpressed in Italy … I used to live right next to a church, many years ago, before the state interfered with the church bells …

  18. G L Meisner | September 22, 2014 at 5:23 am

    The last one is my favorite. The headstone thinking of you rather than the other way around.

    Reply
  19. James Jamztoma Toma | September 22, 2014 at 12:59 pm

    how marvelous your gift of haiku-writing is!!! good job on all of these and thank you for releasing them on Sundays. these haikus were mostly religious and it fans the spiritual heart in me to nostalgia. 🙂

    Reply
  20. veronicabalfourpaul | September 24, 2014 at 6:43 am

    Each one take me to a place. I think I like the bog most of all, but it’s a terrific journey to the stony end.

    Reply
  21. nan | September 25, 2014 at 3:28 pm

    This struck me as a dark set… powerful images and ironies. The first one hit home hard.

    Reply
  22. Satya RS (Locomente) | September 26, 2014 at 1:39 am

    enjoyed all…
    5th one disturbs me..

    Reply
  23. purplepeninportland | September 26, 2014 at 2:05 pm

    All wonderful. My personal favorites were #10 and #12.

    Reply

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