"Darkest Before Dawn" (I.P.)

By Silver Spun Sand

Sat, 25 Jun 2011

6346 reads

26 comments

He will not sleep tonight;
he knows – sure as his dog,
that follows his every step,
pretty soon, a storm will come,
as beneath a blackberry sky –
struggles to his knees to the cries
of roses in a stranglehold of ivy.

Without him, he is certain
these beloved trees, and plants
would not survive, nor would
the fields, the copse, the moor,
he calls his own, for they would
lose their reason to stay green,
and his birds – the robin, jay
and thrush, their will to sing.

He would never leave this place...
this land he’d planted, dug –
cherished from a lad, coursed
through his veins. His roots
ran deep, yet, if he had to go,
he’d pull them out cleanly;
even now dreading...
the dark before the dawn.

Certificate PG

Poem

Silver Spun Sand Poems

Spiritual

Comments

This is a beautiful poem of

Permalink Submitted by skinner_jennifer on Sat, 2011-06-25 17:45

This is a beautiful poem of dedication and commitment, striving to keep going through the hard times. Great read Tina, much enjoyed and brilliant IP. Jenny.

yum 'the stranglehold of

Permalink Submitted by maisie on Sat, 2011-06-25 17:51

yum 'the stranglehold of ivy' yum!

maisie Guess what? I'm still alive!

Hi, Maisie...I rather like

Permalink Submitted by Silver Spun Sand on Sat, 2011-06-25 18:25

Hi, Maisie...I rather like that bit too, if I'm honest;-) Thanks for reading and taking the time to comment. More than appreciated. Tina

Thanks, Jenny. The poem

Permalink Submitted by Silver Spun Sand on Sat, 2011-06-25 18:25

Thanks, Jenny. The poem is, in fact, about a lovely, old gentleman we inherited as a 'gardener' when we bought our house, many years ago now. His dog was called 'Timmy' and he too, along with his master, is looking down on me right now, and, hopefully, smiling...if dogs can smile, that is;-) So pleased you enjoyed. Tina

very, very good , not sure

Permalink Submitted by valiswaverider on Sat, 2011-06-25 21:49

very, very good , not sure if Ive read one of yours before but will take a look at your other stuff. I like your wavelengh

Thanks, so very much. I

Permalink Submitted by Silver Spun Sand on Sat, 2011-06-25 21:51

Thanks, so very much. I like your wavelength too;-) Tina

There is so much I like

Permalink Submitted by Beeme on Sat, 2011-06-25 20:24

There is so much I like about this one Tina, beautiful as always. lovely imgery :)I especially like the second verse. Beeme xx

Many thanks, Beeme. Pleased

Permalink Submitted by Silver Spun Sand on Sat, 2011-06-25 21:50

Many thanks, Beeme. Pleased you enjoyed. Tina;-)xx

Some amazing imagery - I

Permalink Submitted by rjnewlyn on Sun, 2011-06-26 00:52

Some amazing imagery - I loved the blackberry sky and the screaming roses. And the sense of a person in a place and belonging there. Rob

Thanks Rob for reading this,

Permalink Submitted by Silver Spun Sand on Sun, 2011-06-26 09:05

Thanks Rob for reading this, and letting me know your thoughts. More than appreciated. Tina

I also liked this poem very

Permalink Submitted by Highhat on Sun, 2011-06-26 07:08

I also liked this poem very much Tina- I liked the way you put man and nature together here- the way they couldn't be without each other. That you conveyed very well. Yes some beautiful images. I especially liked the 2nd stanza- it is so powerful. I bet he was a terrific gardener!! have a peaceful Sunday ;)Pia

Hi there, Pia. He was a

Permalink Submitted by Silver Spun Sand on Sun, 2011-06-26 09:10

Hi there, Pia. He was a terrific gardner, although the only time he tried to cut our lawn, he nearly cut his toes off...so we confiscated the mower! Seriously though, he sure did know his plants and flowers. My fondest memories of him, his name was Ernie, incidentally, are when he would drop by on a Sunday afternoon, to give me a bunch of asters or wallflowers that he'd grown in his own little plot...Timmy snapping at his heels;-) Many thanks for reading,Pia, and for your words. Tina

I very much like that this

Permalink Submitted by seashore on Sun, 2011-06-26 08:44

I very much like that this was based on a character you knew and cared about - it means so much more at the second read. The way you have written it through his eyes, his thoughts is wonderful.

Thanks for that, Coral. He

Permalink Submitted by Silver Spun Sand on Sun, 2011-06-26 09:13

Thanks for that, Coral. He was quite some character. Eighty years young when he first started tending our garden and only hanging up his hoe when they banned him from driving...his eyesight leaving quite a bit to be desired, bless him. Pleased you enjoyed this so much...as much as I have enjoyed reminiscing, I hope. Have a sunny Sunday, and don't forget your sunscreen;-) Tina

Thanks so much, Sunday's and

Permalink Submitted by Silver Spun Sand on Sun, 2011-06-26 15:37

Thanks so much, Sunday's and so will yours;-) Tina xx

Another truly beautiful

Permalink Submitted by MistakenMagic on Sun, 2011-06-26 19:10

Another truly beautiful poem, Tina! There's a simplicity to this that only enhancing the stunning imagery. Love the title too ;) Magic xxx

Thanks, so much Magic. Hope

Permalink Submitted by Silver Spun Sand on Sun, 2011-06-26 19:23

Thanks, so much Magic. Hope you're enjoying a lovely sunny Sunday;-) Tina xxx

Thanks, Richard. Sorry I

Permalink Submitted by Silver Spun Sand on Tue, 2011-06-28 18:44

Thanks, Richard. Sorry I haven't got back to you before, but your kind words seemed to have slipped the net somehow. Anyway, definitely better late than never, and I appreciate your, as usual, astute and more than valued thoughts. Tina

new Silver=Spun-Sand

Permalink Submitted by Cavalcader on Tue, 2011-06-28 17:14

new Silver=Spun-Sand congrats; on well deserved cherry!Whoops! forgot and for the (IP) to. Just magic with colour beauty, and the way as poet,can do it so well. Thoroughly enjoyed. good luck with the comp;entries Sorry you have a gale, we have terrific claps. of thunder, but have a great friend here, the cat Jazz, mine has carried on n/home as long term friend moving, to-day, had no bags packing so mine went walking half hour shop and got them, still not 80 fit to be sent alone, or maybe someone's helping now. Can't see how get all help, to do anything although social workers and carer's, quite away from us, still in wheelchair not walking yet, be couple floors up. Don't mention storm, black skies, 2 terrific claps and rolls thunder, loudest ever heard. Jazz had bit of my fish,I went go postbox,and put him out, till I came back, wouldn't shift.I don't usually leave him in with me,as I playing through the chair bars and course out came claws to play.Lovely So he is washing after licking margarine butter of piece bread. And still with me. In shop yesterday, chose chocolate he was on floor, I spoke him,chose my choc but suddenly, narrow anyone to pass,he was on top something, turned round thinking what's that and Jazz bumped me with his head, he does if on wall, not in shop I was quite alert. Areas briefing, not so good around here! Have a good day. Love explanation of all the flower's you mention, very cleverly done. julie xx

Gosh, Julie haven't you been

Permalink Submitted by Silver Spun Sand on Tue, 2011-06-28 18:49

Gosh, Julie haven't you been busy and Jazz sounds quite a cat. Glad you enjoyed my poem, and many thanks too for the competition good wishes. It's not blowing a gale today by the way, and we do have thunder and torrential rain as well;-) Have a peaceful evening. Tina xx

Good work Tina. And it is

Permalink Submitted by Nolan on Mon, 2011-07-04 12:57

Good work Tina. And it is coldest too- just before dawn. Keep well! Nolan

Hello there, Nolan;-) Good

Permalink Submitted by Silver Spun Sand on Tue, 2011-07-05 09:00

Hello there, Nolan;-) Good to hear from you. Hope life is treating you kindly. Many thanks for reading this and I'm pleased you liked...and what you say is certainly true, as my garden was testament to one morning in late May. But that's another story, as they say;-) Tina

Thanks, Nathan, for reading

Permalink Submitted by Silver Spun Sand on Fri, 2011-07-29 19:47

Thanks, Nathan, for reading and for taking the trouble to comment so thoughtfully;-) Tina xx

This spoke, to me, as all of

Permalink Submitted by lyssagurl_l0l on Sat, 2012-01-14 21:34

This spoke, to me, as all of your poetry does to anyone out there, I'm sure. Probably one of the best I've read today :) ~:)alyssa(:~

~:)alyssa(:~

alyssa...many thanks for

Permalink Submitted by Silver Spun Sand on Sat, 2012-01-14 21:59

alyssa...many thanks for reading this and for your more than kind comment;-) Tina

It was my pleasure :) Thanks

Permalink Submitted by lyssagurl_l0l on Sat, 2012-01-14 22:43

It was my pleasure :) Thanks for posting :) ~:)alyssa(:~