Through thaws of March #poetry #dVerse

Cold blows the wind from east to west
and far it seems, so very far
the home where we may take our rest
like some receding star

I have on this thin dress, bare rags,
the babe bound to my back
I pray is warm, and safe and snug
and feels the heat I lack

My eldest, bent against the wind,
her flimsy hat held tight
against the cold, she walks behind
headlong into the fight

With untamed nature, who seeks not
to taunt with wind and cold
but rather, sings above, aloft
that she may be so bold

And swift as night, the clouds do part,
reveal a ray of sun:
through thaws of March, the heat we seek
has still a way to come.

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Written for dVerse

Tonight, Merril hosts Poetics, and has given us a choice of four paintings to use as the basis of an ekphrastic poem, all inspired by the month of March. I chose ‘Cauld Blaws the Wind Frae East to West‘ by Joseph Farquharson (1888) for two reasons: firstly, the landscape, though obviously (by the title) in Scotland, reminded me very much of my beloved Lake District, and secondly, the title itself sounds like the opening line of a ballad, so this is what I wrote. I anglicised the title, as I didn’t fancy the added challenge of writing the entire poem in Scottish dialect…

84 thoughts on “Through thaws of March #poetry #dVerse

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  1. what a simply lovely read with the rhythm and rhyme – captures the essence of this painting so well
    “the home where we may take our rest
    like some receding star”

  2. Your ballad style fits so well this nineteenth-century painting. I could see them matched together in a book of the time. Like Björn, I like the bit of hope you offer despite the bleakness of the image.

  3. Oh my heart this is beautifully poignant, Ingrid! I can picture the “eldest, bent against the wind, her flimsy hat held tight against the cold.”💝💝

  4. You have found the perfect balance between painting and poetic. Your rhyme scheme does suit a ballad very well. I, too, thought the landscape could be highlands.

  5. Your ekphratic is so relevant and timely. Its speaks from the refugee’s heart. Nice one

    much love…

  6. Beautifully wrought and moving – I too hope that warmth isn’t far off for all those that hope for a better tomorrow.

  7. Oh, Ingrid, what a splendid masterpiece you crafted out of this photo. I adore it.
    At the “the babe bound to my back
    I pray is warm, and safe and snug
    and feels the heat I lack” I swallowed a sigh. I felt it. Oh my, excellence personified her. Thank you.

  8. You gave the painting an almost tangible and urgent despondency, with your trademark rhythm, and flow…the verse rises to an absolute pinacle by the 3rd stanza…stunning…and what a line.. ‘and feels the heat I lack…”

  9. Beautifully written. So many moms, babes and children on the move right now. Horrifying.

  10. With a shiver, I imagine that many Ukrainian people are feeling this too. Well-written, Ingrid! You really had me in this scenery you created.

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