'The Old Man of Coniston'

Gold cherry

By Silver Spun Sand

Mon, 14 Sep 2015
  • 3659 reads
12 comments
 
Gaze so glued to the skies, 
I doubt he's aware the two of us 
share the same square meter of shale...
 
the zing of the smir on eyelids and nose...
the view of the crag to the east. 
 
Try to snatch a glance of the face 
hidden by a hood, and quite by chance,
the wind obliges...blows it down 
for a second. 
 
His face, weathered as the peaks – 
shaped by circumstance, etched
in reason and quiet resignation
to the status quo; 
 
his standing – straight and true
like a farmer sets his path with plough
and horse ‘cross brown-frowning furrows.  
 
A man of the land indeed – a stance 
set dead against the wind, eyes 
to clouds that saunter a sun-weary sky,
 
eyes that will doubtless fill with tears
at the sight of the first green shoots
breaking free of their shell...
 
a man who will know – words are air,
become a breath – kisses the eyes
of a lover as she sleeps.
Certificate PG
Poem
Silver Spun Sand Poems
Spiritual
Nature

Comments

Submitted by Deliberately Ev... on

This is beautiful and paints a dramatic picture - awe inspiring

The beat of your heart is the mellifluent rhythm to my soul.

Submitted by Silver Spun Sand on

Good morning, Ae...and I am so pleased you thought so, and more than grateful you took the time and trouble to tell me.  I hope the day is a good one for you.

Tina

 

Submitted by Rhiannonw on

Seems a sturdy character. Rhiannon

 

Submitted by Silver Spun Sand on

Yes, he does, Rhiannonsmiley  'The salt of the earth', as they say.

Tina

 

Submitted by skinner_jennifer on

Hi Tina,

had to look up on the internet about the Old Man of Coniston, never having heard of it before. Your description gave a sense of understanding about the natural beauty and the wildness which was so inviting.

One part puzzled me, in the line: the zing of the smir on eyelids and nose. I tried to look up the word smir, but couldn't find it. Hope you don't mind explaining.

Very enjoyable read.

Jenny.

 

Submitted by Silver Spun Sand on

Hi there, Jenny...as for that mysterious word, 'smir', you can either spell this way with an 'i' or with a 'u', hence 'smur' so that probably was contributing to the conundrum.  All it means is light rain or drizzle, or as my old nan used to say 'mizzle'...a combination of extra fine drizzle and mistsmiley

Anyway, that aside so pleased you enjoyed, and that you managed to find 'The Old Man of Coniston' on the map.

Hope your day is going well.  Mine is a bit of a mish-mash, so I hope it improves this afternoon.

Tina

 

 

Submitted by skinner_jennifer on

Many thanks for coming back and explaining Tina, it all makes sense to me now.

Hope your day improves as it goes on. 

Jenny. smiley

 

Submitted by Silver Spun Sand on

My pleasure, Jennysmiley  And as for my day, I guess it did improve, thank you. The sun just peeping from behind a big black cloud, and at least I don't have to water my veggies.

Tina

 

Submitted by luigi_pagano on

Tina, this takes me back many years when I was on a course in the Lake district and was persuaded by some of the participants to join them to reach the summit of the Old Man. This I did, in borrowed walking boots, puffing a lot. A venture experienced only once but never regretted.
An interesting and original poem well crafted.

Luigi xxx
P.S. That word 'smir' can also be spelled 'smirr', with two rs.
 

 

 

 

Submitted by Silver Spun Sand on

Hello there, Luigi, and you're dead right about that smir, smur, smismileyrr.

And I take my hat off to you, venturing and completing that climb.  Hope you didn't have too many blisters from those there walking boots, but at least they served you well.

So very many thanks for popping by, and sharing your memories.

Tina

 

 

Submitted by scratch on

This is our Facebook and Twitter pick of the day!

Get a fantastic reading recommendation every day.

 

Submitted by Silver Spun Sand on

Ta, muchly, scratch.  smiley