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Happy February,
Are you shivery? I am! I have taken to lap blankets--with electric heaters inside. Jone is warmly hosting our Poetry Friday round-up at her beautiful blog. Thank you, Jone!
This month, my SWAGGER pals have taken up a challenge posed by Catherine.
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| https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/09/books/review/e-l-doctorow-virginia-woolf-music-literature-language.html |
My mentor poem is, The Ox Cart Man, By Donald Hall
My poem...
What the Ox Cart has to Say
In the shearing season, I rested
as sheep cried, shorn thin
kicking up their heels before
escaping to the fat green fields
where lambs nibbled innocently
By July I was pressed into service
carrying boys to haying
filling me to groaning with
bales of sunny stalks piled high
topped with raucous laughter
All of those trips out of the barn
pulled by Ox, my constant companion
to flax and cornfields in August
later to potato hills
into the winter woods for sap,
and honeycombs in May
I’ve faithfully fetched and carried
for Farmer for a year until--
my boards shine smooth and silver
now heavy under the weight of goods
for Portsmouth Market
Each handshake signals farewell
to fields, Farmer, barn, and Ox
where I watched sheep
and creaked after a long day
of bringing
bounty after bounty.
(c) Linda Mitchell
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Lim, Adolf. “Hay Harvest, Farmer Couple with Ox Cart.” Mutual Art, © 2021 MutualArt Services, Inc., 2018, www.mutualart.com/Artwork/Hay-harvest--farmer-couple-with-ox-cart/3C7FF1E752A02FEF. |
Thanks for your poem and for the challenge. I took up the challenge here: https://wentalearn.blogspot.com/2021/02/where-im-from.html
ReplyDeleteAn excellent challenge - and an awe-inspiring response. thank you for sharing your cleverness.
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful to see you rising to two challenges; the mentor poem and the ox theme. Lots of lovely alliteration interspersed through this, Linda. There's something restful about 'I've faithfully fetched and carried.'
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ReplyDeleteYou really nailed this challenge with this gentle poem from the Ox Cart. Who'da ever thought I would care so much for an Ox and his cart? You are inspiring me with your commitment to your OLW.
ReplyDeleteI love Donald Hall's poems and now yours can lie beside it, Linda. Taking that ox-cart's voice is special, imagining its life in such a real way. I love it all, but somehow this line seems to show the age and work so beautifully: "my boards shine smooth and silver". Great challenge, too!
ReplyDeleteWell done, Linda! Your details allow us to truly 'hear' what the ox cart has to say. :)
ReplyDeleteI especially like those "bales of sunny stalks piled high/topped with raucous laughter." Nice ending, too :-) The Ox is carrying you faithfully this year...or are you carrying the Ox faithfully? Stay warm! xo
ReplyDeleteGreat job. Love hearing from the ox cart and being reminded of Hall's poem and the wonderful picture book. Perfect choice for Lunar New Year, Happy Year of the Ox!
ReplyDeleteI love Hall's poem and now hearing a story told by the ox-cart. It's a great subject for a poem and your's so successfully evoked admiration for this workhorse on wheels.
ReplyDeleteThe sturdy cart has carried much through the seasons. I enjoyed hearing from its perspective--and it reminds me of the sheep that are our neighbors (though they seem to be missing the ox to pull their carts).
ReplyDeleteI love that you gave the ox cart a voice.
ReplyDeleteHow cool to take the voice of the ox-cart. I remember having the Hall picture book in the library. I was with the cart through the seasons.
ReplyDeleteLinda, I was wonder where the ox might lead today - never expected to hear the ox cart's tale, nor to feel such empathy for it! Gorgeous imagery - worn smooth by work in faithful service, witness to "bounty after bounty" - magnificent metaphor. I love every word, along with that artwork.
ReplyDeleteThis is so cool, Linda. I especially like stanza two with its contrast between the hard working cart and the light-hearted working boys.
ReplyDeleteI love this in all the ways you know, and the painting you found is perfect. "Bounty after bounty"!
ReplyDeleteLinda, your poem pairs beautifully with the painting. I also love how your poem is from the POV of the cart. Lovely images as in "where I watched sheep/
ReplyDeleteand creaked after a long day/of bringing/bounty after bounty." I hear your alliteration and consonance. Well done. I have enjoyed every Swaggers poem. Thank you.