In Appreciation

· by · in Blogging. ·

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I was delighted to be featured on the WordPress Discovery page for my post: What Remains, this month. As a result, the traffic to my site has been almost overwhelming.

I thank the WordPress editors for choosing me, but I’m especially grateful to all those bloggers who took time to visit and comment on my post, offering their take on the subject.

While I’ve never been motivated by the number of followers or how many ‘likes’ I receive, it’s validating to know people read my offerings and get something from them. This is one of my main motivations for posting and what makes blogging so satisfying for me.

Another reason is the community that blogging gives one access to. Exposure to new ideas, new cultures, perspectives and people. The people are paramount, and I feel I’ve made many friends since I began to blog nearly three years ago. The generosity of fellow bloggers who offer comments of encouragement, appreciation and hope, is beyond any expectation I held.

With that in mind, I’d like to share a poem I wrote based on the Discovery post called  What Remains. I wrote it because a blogging  buddy suggested I might rework some of my posts into poems. He even used examples to show how this might be done. Thank you Albert! His site is worth visiting. And thank you to all the other bloggers and friends who have supported me since I began.

 

What Remains

Air

Settling damply on bare skin.

Chiming birdsong and insect whirr

Around me.

The heaving heartbeat of the bush,

Breathing in, breathing out, the eons.

 

Vines scramble over fallen stones,

Clinging to the past, grasping at the present.

Crossing the threshold from clamour

Into dimmed hush,

I’m compelled to whisper.

A trespasser summoning up the past,

Stumbling over another’s aspirations.

 

Ghosts murmur softly.

I turn, prickling under their accusing gaze.

No one is there.

Ancient memories, a soft mantle on my consciousness,

Just beyond reach.

 

Jewelled parrots watch.

Silent sentries

Giving me a start.

Forever captive in a stained-glass window,

Miraculously intact among the ruins.

 

Memories seep through crevices, through cracks,

Pooling in lazy puddles of light.

Old desires bled out among the rubble.

Now, no more than desiccated shells.

 

What remains but broken vanities.

The heady making of a life

They thought never would end.

 

A derelict stone cottage, abandoned, bereft.

Until what remains is …

Then is, no more.

 

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49 responses to “In Appreciation”

  5. It was a beautiful post in its original form, and you have made an equally beautiful poem. Both capture the magic and sadness of your discovery.

    Liked by 1 person

  11. loved this – evoked a memory of discovering a long derelict croft on a Scottish island years ago when we kayaked out there – that is until parrots were mentioned. more like crows or seabirds there. well done Robyn

    Liked by 1 person

  12. I thought I’d commented on the original post, but it seems not. Possibly one I was going to go back to and never did. Sigh… Memory like a sieve these days.
    I loved the prose on the original, it was almost poetry then, but this is sheer delight and shows how one can rework a piece and produce something entirely different. Derelict / abandoned buildings always make me ponder on lives gone before. My favourite bit? The parrots startling you. I recall the stained glass windows which were so strange to see intact. I’d like to think someone would rescue those.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Hey Jude, I know what you mean about the parrot window. They were so real and being backlit, became the whole focus. I did ask someone who knows the current owner and she assures me the window will be preserved. I hope so. Jude I really appreciate your kind words about my writing. It means a lot.

      Liked by 1 person

  13. It is not surprising, Robyn,to see that you now have a new garden to spend time in, whether working its earth or drifting among the blossoms and ferns. The seeds , bulbs, roots were always there. Of course nothing is “tiny” about ant garden except space, but this new one has no borders, no limits. Plenty of material for dreaming bigly.

    Love the poem. I’m off to the library to print it, so I can keep it have it at hand when i need to remember how much remains.

    Liked by 1 person

  18. Hey! My name is Cat and I am starting a blog! My blog is called, https://livelifefearlesslyblog.wordpress.com and it’s about my thoughts on life! Please read my most recent blog post and comment (it’s about my time at prom – haha you can compare your experiences with mine!)!

    I love your poem/ post that you wrote! It is so descriptive that I feel as if I am there, feeling an seeing everything that you are describing! You are super creative and I’m super happy that i found your blog! Thanks and have an awesome day!

    Liked by 1 person

      • Poetry is great for insinuation and implication, I think, as well as imagery. It also allows freedom in ways prose doesn’t. I think poetry is best at expressing the unspoken and general while prose is best for specifics and details.

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      • Luke you’re right about the shades of difference. I also believe poetry rises from a different place in the psyche, even perhaps a different place in the brain (did I read that somewhere?). A quick search in Google lights up with many different neurological phenomena associated with poetry – reading and listening to it a well as the act of composing poetry. I have enjoyed your thoughts on the subject Luke – thanks for sharing

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  21. Robyn, the beauty and succinctness of poetry does justice to your thoughts and your beautiful garden. What a wise and insightful blogger to realize how the words in your posts would be so effective in poetic form. Thank you, Albert.

    Liked by 1 person

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