Sunday, July 8, 2012

Magpie Tales # IGWRT's A Word with Laurie & Sunday Challenge

Chilmark Hay, 1951 by Thomas Hart Benton
The Land

As perspiration trickles downward
and heat waves its heavy hand,
my eyes seek sustenance
from her sculpted form.

I lick salt from thirsty lips,
wonder if she sweats at all.
My eyes drink her in
as she entices beneath the sycamore.

I accept her offer,
lower myself upon her broad chest,
and sigh the sigh
of a man well loved.

Her cool arms promise
she will never lie,
she will never leave
and I rest my head, and believe.

I rouse, raindrops glisten upon us,
farm house chimes tickle the cool breeze.
Refreshed, I leave her slumber,
her demarcation clearly marked.

I belong to her.

by Margaret Bednar, Art Happens 365, July 8, 2012

Would you like to hear me read my poem?


Check this out on Chirbit

Photo courtesy of Gemma Wiseman

This is a triple!  Meaning, I have combined three challenges.

Magpie Tales #125 - the top photo prompt
Imaginary Garden with Real Toads Sunday Challenge featuring Gemma Wiseman
Imaginary Garden with Real Toads - A Word with Laurie - Demarcation - the act of creating a boundary around a place or thing.

32 comments:

Daydreamertoo said...

Oooo very romantic, hot and sultry. Love in the afternoon. Some people are so lucky :)

Kerry O'Connor said...

Such a wonderful personification of the land, and a farmer's love of it. It was grand to hear the words spoken - I am always excited to hear how one of my fellow bloggers sounds. The voice adds such dimension to personality.

Margaret said...

Yes, I am referring to the land, but as poetry goes, it can be interpreted many ways. I suppose it is a happier reading if one sees it as a woman. :)

This recording is fun... but oh, it does take me many takes to get one I can tolerate. Why is It hard to hear ones own voice. :)

Laurie Kolp said...

Oh, I love this Margaret... the strong metaphor throughout, and such vivid images. I especially like the first 2 stanzas. Thanks so much for taking part in A Word with Laurie.

Tess Kincaid said...

This is my favorite of yours Margaret...nice to hear you read...

Kay said...

really liked hearing you read this!!lovely..x

JJ Roa Rodriguez said...

romantic... love it!

JJRod'z

Dana Dampier said...

A farmer and his land... so respected, loved, and touched tenderly.

Vaishali Jain said...

Lovely, Margaret! I read and re-read your poem. What a great work you've done here. The metaphor has been used intelligently and I loved it.

I'm glad I came across your blog. I'll keep reading. :)

Gemma Wiseman said...

Sensual beauty! Lovely feeling of connecting souls!

Scarlet said...

Great take on the love for the land ~
I didn't take it sensually when I read broad chest :-)

And how creatively you combined all 3 prompts ~

Enjoyed the read as well ~

hedgewitch said...

I like the way you've made the land so rich and real, and the human just an adjunct who needs and appreciates her--if only it were that way for more of us. I especially like the third stanza, and the alliteration towards the end. Great three-fer, Margaret.

Mary said...

Interesting that it was the land you wrote about, Margaret. I read it to be a woman, as I think Bren did. Beautifully worded nonetheless.

Arian Tejano said...

Just beautiful!

Ella said...

I loved hearing your voice and the connected thoughts, the beauty of your words. I, too thought it was about a woman...gorgeous!

Brian Miller said...

nice...you spun a pretty cool (and gentle) bit of love out of this one margaret...being owned by her is not a bad thing surely...smiles.

Ginnie Hart said...

Ohhhh, I loved hearing your voice reading your poem, Margaret! It's one thing to hear sister Ruth read her poems, because I know her, but to hear YOUR voice, whom I have not met...WOW. Thank you.

Lolamouse said...

Margaret,
Such beautiful imagery and use of metaphor. Of course, the land can be as fickle as a woman for a farmer! At least no one has read your poem as a romance for his horse yet!

Helen said...

Can we shout 'trifecta' ... wow! I love the way your poem made me feel, yes I could feel the Earth, summer heat. Your voice is the best!

Susan Anderson said...

Love of the land is wonderfully depicted here.

Well done!

=)

Berowne said...

Well written, well read...

JBinford-Bell said...

It calls to mind Steinbeck's East of Eden. Very nicely written.

Little Nell said...

Perhaps the title lead me to think think this was not a human lovemaking, but nevertheless the images are so strong I had to double-check. I like the feeling that his love and care for the land is reciprocated.

Lisa Gordon said...

This is wonderful Margaret.
Even more so in your voice!

21 Wits said...

Nicely written, and I enjoyed the reading!

Sreeja said...

This is really cool, the farmer sure believes in her...all the prompts so well captured....great....

Hannah said...

Margaret!! What a gift...such a treat to hear you read this!!!


I love the never lie...never leave segment and the chimes tickling the cool breeze!! Your words are magic!

Doctor FTSE said...

Very restful, and the chimes from the farmhouse are a lovely image.

Unknown said...

This is a wonderful analogy of a farmer's love of the land, so beautifully rendered. Thank you for sharing this, Margaret. =D

Beachanny said...

Not only did you capture "land" but very particularly that piedmont, that sod that gave rise to a democracy, that cradle of the Founding Fathers, where agriculture and the rotation of the seasons and the land gave enough time for care and contemplation. All executed here effortlessly. Wonderful.

Anonymous said...

Hills and valleys of people as well as land, well done. k.

Margaret said...

Just beautiful comments from you all! I am truly grateful... the land and places are one of my favorite things to writ about.