Lady Danube

Gold cherry
Poem of the week

By Turlough

Tue, 25 Jan 2022
  • 4157 reads
24 comments
 

Lady Danube

 

From your deep bed’s lavish side

Transfixed I watch your body glide

Its power and its beauty grow

Your curves and your exquisite flow

Carve your name across great lands

As they have done since time began

How you entrance and twist and dance

East towards an azure Black Sea

Inciting and inviting me

To caress you with my fingertips

Taste your salt upon my lips

To dip my toes but nothing more

Enchantingly you draw and claw

Me blindly in towards your shore

Tempt me to your watery depths

Steal my last and final breath

A love to lead me to my death

 

You mesmerise, I’m mystified

You tantalise, I fantasise

I close my eyes, avert my gaze

Not fooled by your seductive waves

Today I am your chosen one

But I shall turn and soon be gone

Not joining all the countless slaves

You led spellbound into their graves

 

Tranquil, soothing and deep blue

Your waters whisper and subdue

Changing hue without warning

Currents swirling and transforming

Suddenly violent, wild and cruel

Steal from so many ships of fools

Lives dashed into your deadly pools

Handing out in equal measure

Great destruction, extremes of pleasure

A murderess with a heart of stone

No body you can call your own

So from mortals you take flesh and bone

From fishermen, sailors and from traders

Pirates, assassins and invaders

Of the shores that you have kissed

Those perished souls doomed to exist

With wisp, with worm and basilisk

Til spewed from your gut obscenely engorged

Into dark and ancient channels forged

By Sulina, Kilia and St George

Lugged then plunged to the briny’s floor

To lie near Achilles from the Trojan War

By his Isle of Serpents forevermore

 

Note:

I would say that using the third from last photo taken on our cameras as an inspirational point is a wonderful idea. It certainly gets the grey matter working and I hope it crops up again.

Certificate 12
Poem
Poetry in Commotion
Surreal
Other Non-fiction
Inspiration Point (work that responds to our weekly writing cue)

Comments

Submitted by celticman on

Rivers mark the bordres of our lives as you show, washing over us. There when we are not. 

 

Submitted by Turlough on

Personal borders but also political. In my photograph, the opposite bank of the river is Romania. 

We were able to stand on our side and sing rude football songs about Steaua Bucuresti without fear of them being able to get us ... unless they had a rowing boat. We didn't venture far from our car, just in case.

Turlough

Submitted by skinner_jennifer on

This is so haunting and imaginative, with such great rhythm and rhyme. The explanation of its seductive magnatism reminded me of the many sea shanties sung, of lost fishermen drawn to their death. 

Yet there's a stunning allure that stirs the soul, especially for you with this amazing poem, which really was inspiring.

Jenny.

 

Submitted by Turlough on

The Danube at this point still has about 400 kms to go to reach the sea but already it is a large dangerous mass of water to be feared as well as admired and consequently is treated with the same respect as the sea might be. So I'm sure that the people living on its banks will have written a few shanties down the years.

Thank you very much Jenny for the kindness of your words.

Turlough

Submitted by donignacio on

Excellent, wonderful poem for dreamers!

 

Submitted by Turlough on

Thank you Michael ... but I'm not the only one ...

wink

Turlough

Submitted by Turlough on

Many thanks to the cherry givers.

They're always appreciated.

smiley

Turlough

Submitted by Rhiannonw on

You capture the awesomeness of beauty and change and danger in great rivers, as in the ocean waves and even in fire – useful, but treat with caution and care. The roar of waterfalls, the tumble of swollen streams, the burbling of shallower stoney ones, the powerful gliding of a big river, or turbulence of 'white water'. Rhiannon

 

Submitted by Turlough on

Your comment is almost a poem in itself Rhiannon. Water is a fascinating thing to look at in all of it's forms. Sometimes the Danube near here freezes bringing even more beauty and danger. I would love to see that.

Thank you very much for taking the time to read my poem and for your well thought out comment.

Turlough

Submitted by Insertponceyfre... on

Another wonderful result from the IP - I'm so pleased you enjoyed it. Please go and take some more photos so you can do another one before it ends!

 

Submitted by Turlough on

An excellent idea that hadn't crossed my mind but well worth pursuing as the third photograph from last is updated regularly.

Thanks for that and for your taking the time to read.

Turlough

Submitted by Insertponceyfre... on

This lovely poem is our Facebook and Twitter Pick of the Day!

please share/retweet if you enjoy it too

 

Submitted by Turlough on

Ah, brilliant ! I'm really chuffed with that.

Thank you very much indeed.

Turlough

Submitted by marandina on

"To lie near Achilles from the Trojan War..." Lady Danube sounds imposing and magnificent. A fine poem and congrats on your POTD. Paul

 

Submitted by Turlough on

The bit about Achilles' Isle of Snakes at the mouth of the Danube is perfectly true Paul, if you believe Greek mythology.

Thanks indeed for your kind words.

Turlough

Submitted by Di_Hard on

You have made the river scary and beautiful, evoking age glamour and power. Also, this line where you have "hue" does the true poet thing (for me) of making the sound of the words describe the meaning

Tranquil, soothing and deep blue

Your waters whisper and subdue

Changing hue without warning

Currents swirling and transforming

as you lull the reader into a sense of everything going smoothly with all the oo sounds, in soothing, blue, subdue, and extra reinforecemt of hue, in the middle of the line, and then "without warning" change the rhyme into lots of "ings! Genius :0)

 

Submitted by Turlough on

OO!!

Thank you Di.

Your comment is very very much appreciated. It makes the writing seem even more worthwhile.

smiley

Turlough

Submitted by luigi_pagano on

Congratulations to you, Turlough, for reaching the pinnacle with this well-executed fine poem, with lines as swirling as the river itself. Even though I am very interested in Greek mythology, into which I occasionally dip for literary references, I missed the Achilles connection with the Danube. So well done on your research.

Best. Luigi

 

Submitted by Turlough on

Hello Luigi.

Instead of replying to your comment I've done a new comment. Usually I cope reasonably well with computery things but I find that the hardest part of keeping up to speed on this website is doing the comments and replies.

In this connection, see below ... or above.

indecision

Turlough

Submitted by Turlough on

Hello Luigi.

Since I settled here I've become fascinated to know that huge chunks of Greek mythology are set in Bulgaria. Apparently Snake Island at the mouth of the Danube was called Leuke by the ancient Greeks and Alba (the Scottish word for Scotland) by the Romans. There were many factors that made made me want to move here but the depth of the country's history wasn't one of them because I had no knowledge of it. So now I'm here, every time I go past my garden gate I feel I am on a voyage of discovery.

Thank you very much indeed for your comment. It's greatly appreciated.

Wishing you well.  

Turlough

Submitted by Ewan on

Congratulations!

Author Page at the 'Zon
 

Submitted by Turlough on

Ah, great ! Thank you very much indeed.

Turlough

Submitted by luigi_pagano on

Congratulations on P..O.W., dottore Turlough. yes

 

Submitted by Turlough on

Grazie mille Maestro Luigi. smiley

Turlough