Today's poet

Evening all......nice choice Einar, anything involving the concept of fate is generally a winner for me! ......Ooo and a lovely original by the master DT

Here is one from Thomas Hardy....a reminder that if we are not careful we can let precious opportunities slip through our fingers....



A Thunderstorm In Town
A reminiscence

She wore a 'terra-cotta' dress,
And we stayed, because of the pelting storm,
Within the hansom's* dry recess,
Though the horse had stopped; yea, motionless
We sat on, snug and warm.

Then the downpour ceased, to my sharp sad pain,
And the glass that had screened our forms before
Flew up, and out she sprang to her door:
I should have kissed her if the rain
Had lasted a minute more.



*http://www.thefreedictionary.com/hansom

This is great. Short, very skillfully written, every word counts. Good choice :-)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by freckle

Evening all......nice choice Einar, anything involving the concept of fate is generally a winner for me! ......Ooo and a lovely original by the master DT

Here is one from Thomas Hardy....a reminder that if we are not careful we can let precious opportunities slip through our fingers....



A Thunderstorm In Town
A reminiscence

She wore a 'terra-cotta' dress,
And we stayed, because of the pelting storm,
Within the hansom's* dry recess,
Though the horse had stopped; yea, motionless
We sat on, snug and warm.

Then the downpour ceased, to my sharp sad pain,
And the glass that had screened our forms before
Flew up, and out she sprang to her door:
I should have kissed her if the rain
Had lasted a minute more.



*http://www.thefreedictionary.com/hansom

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The Night Leg

Voluntarily benighted,
Temporarily unsighted
Polaris and the TV mast compete to show you north
Gladly ticking off the Dodds,
Or marching on through Caldew's bogs,
Your pacers working overtime to keep you bang on course

At some point, it's surreal
Why are we here? What is the deal?
I'm on the bloody fells and it's the middle of the night
Your friends and family ask you "why"?,
You cite the views, the space, the sky,
But as the night leg takes a hold, your world's a manmade disc of light

Looking up is your reward
The Milky Way, Orion's sword
And the outline of the fells makes them look grander in the dark
But for all the night's allure
The march from cobalt to azure
Brings a certain quiet relief to the contender and the lark

Quote:

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Originally Posted by OneOffPoet

The Night Leg

Voluntarily benighted,
Temporarily unsighted
Polaris and the TV mast compete to show you north
Gladly ticking off the Dodds,
Or marching on through Caldew's bogs,
Your pacers working overtime to keep you bang on course

At some point, it's surreal
Why are we here? What is the deal?
I'm on the bloody fells and it's the middle of the night
Your friends and family ask you "why"?,
You cite the views, the space, the sky,
But as the night leg takes a hold, your world's a manmade disc of light

Looking up is your reward
The Milky Way, Orion's sword
And the outline of the fells makes them look grander in the dark
But for all the night's allure
The march from cobalt to azure
Brings a certain quiet relief to the contender and the lark

---

absolutely and utterly gorgeous!!!!!!!!!..................love "the world's a manmade disc of light"...just awesome, thanks for posting,what a great way to start the day!

ps reckon this is just the sort of poem that might make the fell runner magazine if we do it again?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by OneOffPoet

The Night Leg

Voluntarily benighted,
Temporarily unsighted
Polaris and the TV mast compete to show you north
Gladly ticking off the Dodds,
Or marching on through Caldew's bogs,
Your pacers working overtime to keep you bang on course

At some point, it's surreal
Why are we here? What is the deal?
I'm on the bloody fells and it's the middle of the night
Your friends and family ask you "why"?,
You cite the views, the space, the sky,
But as the night leg takes a hold, your world's a manmade disc of light

Looking up is your reward
The Milky Way, Orion's sword
And the outline of the fells makes them look grander in the dark
But for all the night's allure
The march from cobalt to azure
Brings a certain quiet relief to the contender and the lark

---

I love this OOP. It's a stunning day in the West Riding this morning and I was just thinking it would be fabulous to get back up to Lakeland soon :cool:

This is great OneOff, I especially like the last verse and the lines '
But for all the night's allure
The march from cobalt to azure
Brings a certain quiet relief to the contender and the lark'

Excellent!!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by OneOffPoet

The Night Leg

Voluntarily benighted,
Temporarily unsighted
Polaris and the TV mast compete to show you north
Gladly ticking off the Dodds,
Or marching on through Caldew's bogs,
Your pacers working overtime to keep you bang on course

At some point, it's surreal
Why are we here? What is the deal?
I'm on the bloody fells and it's the middle of the night
Your friends and family ask you "why"?,
You cite the views, the space, the sky,
But as the night leg takes a hold, your world's a manmade disc of light

Looking up is your reward
The Milky Way, Orion's sword
And the outline of the fells makes them look grander in the dark
But for all the night's allure
The march from cobalt to azure
Brings a certain quiet relief to the contender and the lark

---

DT - I loved your haiku, were abouts are the curlew? I'm missing them over here, they flew from Masham and the moors above Pateley some time ago. I'm thinking of heading to the estuaries on the west coast to get some photos this autumn. I can call it a research trip! ;-)

The curlew are in the playing fields at Ben Rydding by the A65 in the morning and in the field on the opposite side of the road i.e the Ilkley Moor side (just past the traffic lights by the Tesco garage heading out of Ilkley) :) Hurry up as I suspect they'll be nipping over to either the Ribble or Humber estuaries soon for the winter ;)

I'm going to see Stef this weekend and we'll be birdwatching on the coast either Saturday or Sunday, hoping to see some waders on migration :cool:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Alf

Those Winter Sundays

Sundays too my father got up early
and put his clothes on in the blueblack cold,
then with his cracked hands that ached
from labor in the weekday weather made
banked fires blaze. No one ever thanked him.

I'd wake and hear the cold splintering, breaking,
When the rooms were warm, he'd call,
and slowly I would rise and dress,
fearing the chronic angers of that house,

Speaking indifferently to him,
who had driven out the cold
and polished my good shoes as well.
What did I know, what did I know
of love's austere and lonely offices?

Robert Hayden

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That's essentially a love poem - and a remarkably good one at that. Thanks Alf.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by OneOffPoet

The Night Leg

Voluntarily benighted,
Temporarily unsighted
Polaris and the TV mast compete to show you north
Gladly ticking off the Dodds,
Or marching on through Caldew's bogs,
Your pacers working overtime to keep you bang on course

At some point, it's surreal
Why are we here? What is the deal?
I'm on the bloody fells and it's the middle of the night
Your friends and family ask you "why"?,
You cite the views, the space, the sky,
But as the night leg takes a hold, your world's a manmade disc of light

Looking up is your reward
The Milky Way, Orion's sword
And the outline of the fells makes them look grander in the dark
But for all the night's allure
The march from cobalt to azure
Brings a certain quiet relief to the contender and the lark

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That's excellent OOP well done :cool: