Vissi d'Arte

Cherry

By Silver Spun Sand

Thu, 06 May 2010
  • 5509 reads
18 comments
 

On a ledge that runs twixt
serried ranks of silver birches,
etched, egg-yolk yellow,
against a Van Gogh, watery
moon-rise sky, a woman sits
and knits in pastel shades
of blues and baby-pinks;
head, bent in concentration –
brow, crinkled as a cabbage leaf.

A couple meet by chance –
he sweeps her off her feet,
as presently they lie – bodies
entwined on jade green sward;
blades of grass, hung with pearls
from a sudden, springtime squall...

crows, caw-caw; swagger like lords
in shiny, black coats. Pigeons
potter in puddles; in the road,
an old man with a stick
brings the traffic to a standstill...

Bankside – Tate Modern.
What I would call
an inside-out kind of art.

Certificate U
Poem
Silver Spun Sand Poems
Miscellaneous

Comments

Submitted by maggyvaneijk on
love the carefully crafted details in this poem, it's like a work of art that belongs in the Tate

 

Submitted by Silver Spun Sand on
Maggy - thank you;-) Art is so personal and so in the eye of the beholder,but I guess I agree with Matisse the most, when he says, something like, exactness is not truth. Glad you enjoyed. Tina

 

Submitted by Beeme on
I adore this, so many beautiful images and a perect ending for me :) Beeme xx

k.

Submitted by Silver Spun Sand on
Beeme - thank you, so very much. Glad you enjoyed;-) Tina xx

 

Submitted by samhennig on
Really lovely poem, enjoyed it very much. Sam

Sam Hennig

Submitted by Silver Spun Sand on
Sam - thanks for popping by this Saturday afternoon. I am glad you liked this one. Years ago now, way back in the seventies, my husband, boyfriend as he was then, worked at Bankside Power Station for a while as an apprentice. The end of an era of course and now it's good that the building has been retained in such a positive way. Tina;-)

 

Submitted by MistakenMagic on
Wonderful, witty observations, dear Tina! As always I love all your little rhymes and alliteration - especially in the first stanza! Magic xxx

 

Submitted by Silver Spun Sand on
Little things mean a lot;-) Thanks for noticing. Glad you enjoyed. Tina xxx

 

Submitted by samhennig on
Yes tina i think it really is a good thing that the building is now in use in such a brilliant way!

Sam Hennig

Submitted by Silver Spun Sand on
I agree, Sam. Let's hope that Battersea Power Station is put to as good a use. My husband was an apprentice here for much longer than at Bankside, and I shall never forget him taking me into the 'Turbine Hall' one evening. The noise was horrendous. We were on our way to a dinner/dance, which was taking place in their 'social club'. There have been plans drawn up for the building, but none of them have come to fruition, and now, much of it is dilapidated, which is such a shame. It was a remarkable place and I particularly remember the 'art deco' stained-glass windows. The building is listed, but apart from its four chimney, not much else remains. Tina

 

Submitted by Dynamaso on
Now this is art as it should be, Tina. I particularly like the second stanza and the line: "blades of grass, hung with pearls from a sudden, springtime squall..." Also, any poem featuring crows is a winner as far as I'm concerned (as these are one of my most favourite birds).

 

Submitted by Silver Spun Sand on
Great minds obviously think alike, Dynamaso. I too find the crow family fascinating. We do have in fact, a pair of Ravens who have taken up residence in our garden. Their flight is amazing and despite their size they are very timid birds...having said that, they will not tolerate, crows or magpies, but all the other birds, sparrows, chaffinches, etc., live quite happily alongside them. So pleased you enjoyed this one, and as usual, great to hear from you;-) Tina

 

Submitted by Dynamaso on
In Australia, we have Ravens, Magpies and birds similar to both called Currawongs. The Currawongs are such a favourite, I have a tattoo featuring them. I could watch them all day.

 

Submitted by Silver Spun Sand on
Now, Currawong is really a new one on me...so I googled them. What lovely birds;-) Mostly black, it would seem, with a bright yellow eye. Your tattoo must be rather splendid. They say one learns something everyday, and now I can add Currawong to my ornithological vocabulary. You have such wonderful birds down under and it makes me very envious. Tina;-)

 

Submitted by Dynamaso on
Tina, I feel privileged to be living where I am and experience the wild life I do, particularly birds. In my back yard, we regularly get the aforementioned Currawongs, Magpies and Ravens but also Eastern Honeyeaters, Wrens, Wattle Birds, Bul Buls, both Indian and Grey Mynahs, Koles, Cuckoo Shrikes, Willy Wagtails, Wood Doves, Pigeons, Silvereyes, both Rainbow and Eastern Lorikeets, the occasional Sulphur Crested Cockatoo and even rarer Black Cockatoos. And these are just the ones I can remember off the top of my head.

 

Submitted by Silver Spun Sand on
That's just not fair...now I have got to spend the rest of the morning googling these;-) Do you have herons, I wonder? Even though they have eaten all the fish in my two ponds, I still can't help but wonder at them as they almost darken the sky with their enormous wings as, clumsily, they take off, and then glide across the fields. Another favourite of mine is the Green Woodpecker...but then I guess you get loads of them too. Tina;-)

 

Submitted by Dynamaso on
We don't have Herons locally but Australia does a number of different ones. We don't have Woodpeckers here, though. Australia and New Zealand are the only places that don't have them.

 

Submitted by Silver Spun Sand on
My thanks to you, Nathan. Pleased you enjoyed;-) Tina x