Thursday, October 3, 2013

"Forlorn"


Forlorn

Woven on the wind
where yesterday lives -

of wildflower
and mockingbird song
was a reason for hope.

Oh, for sweet liberation!

Now the drum of war,
a dangerous beauty -
the age of innocence
never no more.

by Margaret Bednar, October 3, 2013

This is written for the challenge over at dVerse Poets Pub - Form For All - The Hidden Poetry Books. A found poem using book titles.  These are a few of the many I just went through (and messed up my neat bookshelves!)  It really was much harder than I thought, and I did add a few words - they are italicized.

Most of my books I get from my favorite used book store - I love roaming about picking up a book here and there for a few dollars - I never fail to walk out with an armful.

Woven on the Wind - Women write about friendship in the Sagebrush West HERE
Where Yesterday Lives - It takes place in my beloved Petoskey,  MI!!  HERE
Wildflower - An extraordinary life & untimely death in Africa (Jane Root) HERE
Mockingbird Song - Ecological Landscapes of the South HERE
Reason for Hope - A spiritual Journey by Jane Goodall HERE
Liberation - War as seen through the innocence of a child (WWII) HERE
Now the Drum of War - Walt Whitman and His Brothers in the Civil War HERE
Dangerous Beauty - Life & Death in Africa - True stories from a Safari Guide HERE
The Age of Innocence - A classic by Edith Wharton  HERE
Never No More - The Story of Rebecca Boone HERE

25 comments:

Mary said...

Well composed, Margaret.
I enjoyed the insight into your library. Smiles.
I especially liked the final couplet.

Claudia said...

of wildflower
and mockingbird song... i like this... woven together it sounds as if the flower join in the song... and wouldn't it be awesome to hear them sing together...nice..

Ella said...

Beautiful and lyrical-yours could be a song! :D

Mystic_Mom said...

I love this. So lyrical. So pretty. Well done!

TCPC said...

A beautiful composition!

Brian Miller said...

ha. you worked this out well...i love the used bookstore.....ours does trade ins....so when i get done i take mine back to get another...oh yeah...you were able to work nice flow with what you chose as well...

happy friday

Janine Bollée said...

margaret, your second hand bookstores must be a lot more interesting than ours over here :-)
And what a collection of titles you could lay your hands on in your own home.
It reads lkie a 'normal' [= unfound]poem.

Grace said...

Especially the ending verse, beautiful in meaning ~ I love your collections/ titles ~

Jeff said...

Such a beautiful arrangement of words--if ever was a reason for hope, wildflowers and mockingbird song is it. Excellent!

Kathryn Dyche said...

Love the arrangement, beautifully composed.

Anonymous said...

I love this! I have a hard time walking into any bookstore and not coming out with a whole stack.

brudberg said...

The end was so shocking... I felt the urge for simple solutions in those words. The beauty of the drums of war.. scary, and I see it being said

Grandmother Mary said...

Innocence gone as we see war as beautiful (how can we still?)- this is wonderful.

Sherry Blue Sky said...

Poignant, Margaret. I have a terrible book addiction which I am having to severely curtail as I ran out of shelves ages ago!!!!!

Anonymous said...

quite the twist on your shelf, Margaret

Laurie Kolp said...

A wonderful arrangement of the titles... love the last stanza.

Anonymous said...

The contrast between the mockingbird song and the drum of war ... ugh. Why is it that our leaders are so willing to march to the beat of the drum and ignore the beauty of the birdsong?

Truedessa said...

I am in agreement the last stanza really stands out for me.

Other Mary said...

Margaret, this is poignant, a wonderful poem all on it's own. Amazing you did it from book titles.

Jennifer Wagner said...

Beautifully done, Margaret. You really were able to make this your own. One of my fav things to do is to browse used book stores too...with coffee in hand!

Ginny Brannan said...

"Woven on the wind
where yesterday lives -

of wildflower
and mockingbird song
was a reason for hope."

Beautifully put together, love these lines, they just flow like music (especially the first couplet. Perfect, Margaret. Well done!

Semaphore said...

This is just wonderfully done, with that turn of theme in the closing stanza - from the serenity of birdsong at the opening to the drumbeats of war - that turn just underlining your poetic control over the material, even through the constrained vocabulary of the titles. Bravo!

Gabriella said...

A beautiful poem Margaret! I enjoyed the contrast between yesterday and today, the mocking bird vs the the drum of war.

Lisa A. Williams said...

Beautifully composed!

Liz Rice-Sosne said...

I love your poem - you did this well.