"Mountain Music"

Mountain Music

Snowballs sprinkle the valley,
soft breezes caress one's brow,
and to my eye, mountains with shoulders hunched
protect simple joys
that wind along the French Broad, gravel roads,
and the few true country stores yet to be found.

Weekend plans of leisurely hike pushed aside
as Jesus is coming this side of June -
Grandfather's meadows will overflow
as he hails evangelist, sermon, and song.

And I will linger upon my porch,
perhaps surrounded by an evening fog,
wrapped in solitude, homespun quilt, comfort & sounds
only a small mountain town can offer.

by Margaret Bednar, June 21, 2017

I haven't hiked Grandfather Mountain yet this year - was thinking of this weekend but it truly will be crowded there as Billy Graham's daughter will be the evangelist for this year's "Singing on the Mountain" event.  

"Settling"

Settling

Downy breasts and fledgling tails bosom
beneath barn's bare bulb and beams gilded gold

as mother settles nearby - swooping flight
and darting wing stilled for the night.

Horses stomp, nose their hay
as mountain air and far flung stars vie for center stage;

light switched off, feet shuffle as I walk well worn path
to nestle my own babes to bed.

by Margaret Bednar, June 21, 2017

Mid-July

Paulina Tarot Cards HERE

Mid-July

Sun frolics upon freckled shoulders,
hat forsaken, nose kissed,
sunblock so painstakingly applied in June,
tossed aside, tan lines a criss-crossed map
upon my back as I follow floral paths
of golden whorls and sprightly grass,
track mid-day sun with upturned face,
imitate songs and arcs of darting swallows,
arms outstretched, leap over split rail fence,
imagine flight as summer unspirals.

by Margaret Bednar, June 10, 2017

This is linked (LATE) with "Imaginary Garden with Real Toads - Words Count with Mama Zen"  Interpret a tarot card in 60 words or less.  I went over by one...

"Ghost Walk"

Unitarian Church Graveyard, Charleston, SC

Ghost Tour

Misty moon, a theatrical guide -
an emotional retelling of Annabelle Lee

a translucent lady searching for love -
what Edgar, in vain, thirsted lifelong

clandestine ground where words surely wooed -
due a father's disdain, were doomed

Romeo to her Juliet; passion, tragedy, eternity -
fodder for which a poet's muse

could only bloom and grow.

by Margaret Bednar, June 6, 2017




I adore Ghost Tours, and this was one of the best I've experienced - largely due to the gentlemen who hosted us.  He was an actor, between jobs, and he knew how to tell a story, project so all could hear, and his ending recital of Edgar Allen Poe's  "Annabelle Lee" was mesmerizing.  The photo is NOT of her (six) grave(s), but another section in the graveyard.

As the story goes, Anna was rich and betrothed to another.  Her love was not her father's choice - the young man was just a private in the army - they met secretly in the graveyard.   Yet Edgar Perry (Allen Poe was his real name, but he lied about his name in order to be allowed to enlist) was transferred far away from Fort Moultrie.  Anna became sick and died - before Edgar could return.  Anna's father dug six graves - so Edgar would never know for sure where she lay in the place they once stole moments of love...

This is linked (late) to "Imaginary Garden of Real Toads Flash 55 Plus" (the bonus was Ghost Town - I tweaked it to Ghost Tour) and to "Imaginary Garden of Real Toads - The Tuesday Platform".