Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Geese, Winter


This morning
a late flock of geese
calligraphed
their timid V
on the cottony canvas
of heavens

I stood there
(with you on my mind
with you in my heart)
smiling foolishly
at such a wondrous sight
frowning in worry
at their lateness
will they still reach safely
that balmy south?

I had my feet in the grey snow
on the black ground
(and you in my heart
and you on my mind)
and some of my thoughts
up there
hoping for a trace
for an impression
of something that has been
or maybe will be
in another spring

21 comments:

Rick said...

You see why I included you with the other word poets?

Karen said...

Vesper, I love the use of "calligraphed" and the "cottony canvas of heavens". This is such a clear image that I feel I can see just what you saw. I really like the progression of this - outside you to inside both heart and mind and back to the sky and hopes. Beautiful poem. I love when you post your poetry, proving that you can write anything!

Lisa Ursu said...

"This morning
a late flock of geese
calligraphed
their timid V
on the cottony canvas
of heavens"

Brilliant!
ps...I have worried at their lateness as well.

Bernita said...

VERY nice, and a perfect icon.

Fireblossom said...

Silly goose, Vesper, writing love poems! Love is so impossible to figure out.

I love Canada geese. Sometimes when I am working, a group will fly overhead, honking away. "They get the urge for going... and they've got the wings to go"

Aniket Thakkar said...

Oh, the images these words draw!

It captures my heart,
It captures my mind! :D

Glad to see you back from the voyage!

the walking man said...

All I know is that the next time I hear honking and know it's not car horns, spring is about to sprung.

Sarah Hina said...

I LOVE this, Vesper. I can't think of a better metaphor for thoughts, for hopes, than a fleeting flock of birds migrating for someplace warmer. And that little glitch of uncertainty feels like the razor-sharp point of the V.

You paint beautiful impressions with your words and heart.

(And I love your parentheticals :))

Marilyn Brant said...

How beautiful and vivid this poem is... I, too, love your use of "calligraphed"--that image sticks with me because it's just so perfect and so unique. Lovely as always, Vesper!

poefusion said...

i love this Vesper~ that first stanza to the repetition- it all works solidly. i love the sound of honking geese and watching them form their V's in the sky. i'm sure the weather has played a big role in their late departure. here's hoping they arrive safely. have a great day/ weekend.

BernardL said...

A very evocative word picture.

Nevine Sultan said...

A perfect moment where time seems to stand still as one observes a flock of geese and thinks those thoughts that seem to haunt us when we are shocked by the sight of natural beauty and grace. There are the thoughts, the memories, and then, of course, there are the hopes that follow naturally. A very human piece, Vesper - and the delivery was just right.

Nevine

Catherine Vibert said...

That's odd,I left a comment the other day but it didn't take. This is beautiful, the birds migrating to the warmer places, and the unknowing, yet hopefulness expressed. Relating the birds to the image of (the one in your heart) that migration, that hopefulness becomes more personal. As always in your poems, this one captures a feeling that just rings in my heart. Lovely.

laughingwolf said...

ah yes, that elusive thing called 'love'... very nicely said, v :)

and thx fb, for the tom rush quote!

Vesper said...

I love you, Rick!

Karen, "calligraphed" should really be a word. “Write calligraphically” – is much too long… Thank you, dear Karen, for always reading and leaving such heartfelt comments.

Liza, thank you! :-)
You know, me too, with the mild weather we had in December, I was secretely, foolishly hoping that winter wasn’t coming this year… Maybe the geese were hoping that too… :-)

Thank you, my dear Bernita!

Yeah, sweet Fireblossom, I do feel like a silly goose when thoughts of (romantic) love bloom in my head and in my heart… But I love it!:-)

Aniket, I’m not back yet… this was just a tiny interlude… but well worth it to see your endearing enthusiasm… Thank you, my friend! :-)

Ah, Mark, spring can also be a state of mind…:-)

Thank you, Sarah. Those birds really crossed the skies above my head but, like you, I saw them as a metaphor too. Thank you for your insight and for your kind words, always.

Marilyn, how much your sweet words please me… Thank you, dear Marilyn! :-)

Thank you, Michelle. You could’ve taken a beautiful picture, I’m sure. Yes, weather has lulled us all into a sense of autumnal safety well into December, only to hit us harder with the cold and the snow.

Thank you, Bernard! :-)

Nevine, I am but human although I sometimes wish I were up there, a bird in the sky… Thank you for your thoughtful, beautiful comment.

Cat, thank you for coming back… It’s reassuring to know that similar feelings and experiences touch our hearts. And thank you for saying it, my friend!

Thanks, LW! :-) :-) :-)

laughingwolf said...

merry christmas to you and yours, m'dear :)

Rick said...

Now you've gone and made my night.

Wanderlust Scarlett said...

Absolutely love that. Like a whisper from the heart and mind, passing fancies and thoughts... so softly and so deeply thought that one isn't entirely sure if the words were spoken and heard, or just felt.

Lovely!

Thank you.

Scarlett & Viaggiatore

Wanderlust Scarlett said...

Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year to you!


Scarlett & V.

Vesper said...

And the very same to you, LW! :-)

Always, Rick... :-)

Scarlett, it's so incredibly nice to "see" you here! I'm so glad that this little poem spoke like this to you. Thank you for letting me know!
Merry Christmas, dear Scarlett! All the best to you and your loved ones in the New Year.

K.Lawson Gilbert said...

What a flawless picture you paint with your language! Love this so very, very much.