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July 20, 2017

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Photography, Poetry

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Postcard Power

 

lantern

Thanks to Tabatha Yeatts, who channeled winter and the White Witch in her summer postcard swap. She sent me a poetic mashup of fairy tale, Narnia and politics. I have her permission to share it here (apologies that her special indentation is not supported by WordPress):

Crow’s Report from the White Witch’s Courtyard
by Tabatha Yeatts
for Brenda

“[Edmund] saw that there were dozens of statues all about… They all looked so strange standing there perfectly life-like and also perfectly still, in the bright cold moonlight, that it was eerie work crossing the courtyard.”
— C.S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

this wind follower, tree-singer
shackled in stone
has roused from sleep
to scan the state of the world:

caw, wish I could squint
against the light
glinting off frozen larch-girls,
twiggy hands hiding their faces,
and round-bellied
beavers, caught in mid-step.

can’t look up at the sky
but there’s naught I would change
of the flights I risked,
the songs I revealed
that landed me here.

does anyone seek
to save us?

though the snow is soft,
its reflection blinds me
much as the statues,
and I think of sleep again.

hear I the faint rumble of the
wheels of justice    turning
in the distance?

in my mind
my outstretched wing
points to a future
where the wand bearer’s power
is snapped,
where the sun’s breath
touches our upturned faces,
and our colors flame again.

Queen Statue

Notes: I didn’t have a photo of a beaver statue in snow, and I settled for a Japanese lantern in snow. Since the poem ends on spring, I found a photo of a woman-statue in spring, perhaps just awoken by the crow. The first was in a neighbor’s yard, and the second was taken in Rochester, NY, if I remember right.

Happy Poetry Friday and thanks to Katie at the Logonauts for hosting this week! Logonaut? From their website: Logo / naut: word sailor. Cool, huh? Stop by to link up to the poetry extravaganza or to find lots of great poetry.

Poetry Friday Heron

55 thoughts on “Postcard Power”

  3. I am in awe of Tabatha’s poem and the truths she lays bare. All week, I’ve been longing for “a future/where the wand bearer’s/ power/is snapped.” Your photos are exquisite, and yes, the lady in the lilacs needs her own poem. Thank you for sharing, Brenda!

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  5. Wonderful! And that’s always how I feel when I come for a visit and read your latest. Also, every time I come here, and see the pic of you holding that gorgeous pink flower to your hair, I feel amazing happy! 😀

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  6. You go, Tabatha! Thank you for sharing her work and your amazing photography. I love how you connected them to the poem. Also, thank you for dropping by the ridge and leaving your kind words of sympathy, Brenda.

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  8. Thank you for inspiring and sharing my poem, Brenda! Thanks, all, for the kind and thoughtful comments. Heidi, how did I decide that my narrator would be a crow? I was wondering what the statues would be thinking (what was their consciousness like, in that state?) and I liked the idea of focusing on someone smart, but seemingly humble/ordinary. Is anyone undistinguished, though, when they have been fighting for the end of Winter?

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  9. Brenda, I loved the way Tabatha wove this fanciful tale with the mix of politics in it. These lines resonated with me:
    can’t look up at the sky
    but there’s naught I would change
    of the flights I risked,
    the songs I revealed
    that landed me here.
    The women awoken by the crow image fits well with the poem.

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  24. Pingback: Postcard Power–Friendly Fairy Tales: | By the Mighty Mumford

  25. Wow, that Tabatha pays attention to the details like nobody’s business…..including your details….your style and what you see. Truly, a gift. “does anyone seek to save us?” The echo and ripple and pressure of that question. Wonderful. You are a lucky girl today.

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