Free verse № 59701
blue lilac and I (edit)
sitting by the stream
silvered in pike,
and picking from still air
the e-minor of trombone
I could see the craned neck
of blue lilac in shade
bowl faced to the sun
like a beggar,
so succinctly put
was its life and mine
18 comments
thanks.
sitting by the silvered stream of mackeral and pike (lotta fish in that thar stream--btw, it's mackerel, with an e, and I think they're salt water fish)
[and]picking from the still air . . .
. . . fields
the blue lilac and berry (maybe make it a specific type of berry and lose plant altogether?)
[lose "hid?" After all, you can see them, right?] under the trees
could be seen to crane . . .
Something like that? Or not. Not sure I get "put" their life and mine in this context--or, at least, not sure "put" delivers here.
Damn Damn Damn !
Kudos in abundance and you got it 9
As Jim Royle would say in a mancunian drawl '9 my arse'
Pike are generally solitary (they're very aggressive) and they tend to hide, waiting for prey, so I don't think you would see a stream "silvered in pike." Maybe another freshwater fish--something that shoals?--would work better here.
The trombone is disconnected from the rest of the poem now, without the band playing nearby [in our view]. Might something other than a trombone work here--something that works within the scene you've rendered?
The devil's in the details! But that's not to take away from what is, at its core, really fine work.
E-minor is a chord, by the way, which would take multiple instruments to hear.
This is unfortunate because the poem really enjoys having a solitary instrument, but also benefits from recognizing specifically an e-minor feel.
Perhaps:
'and picking from the still air
a dorian scent of trombone'
(Dorian is a mode that has a minoresque feel to it and can be played with a series of notes on a single instrument.)
When the smelts are running the rivers really are silver though I could see if you didn't want to overplay the s sound.
E minor doesn't have to be a chord, it could be a key, which I think is how you meant it. Try "the trombones minor key" as most people wouldn't know E from F to hear it, but could recognize Major from minor.
like a beggar,
so succinctly put
was its life and mine" Well put!
Log in to add a comment.