As a young lad in a little country town I first encountered Kenneth Graham’s book “The Wind in the Willows” in the Year 5 classroom. Then I thought it tremendously boring! Later, when studying literature at uni, I encountered the tale again. That time I was captivated. Recently, I heard an audio version while travelling along the highway. This was a time when I was not in a good space personally. The aside into the ravings of the riverbank and words on the wild wood brought me great solace. I heard an alliteration in some of Graham’s sentences that I’d not heard before (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5659.The_Wind_in_the_Willows ). It reminded me, as I mused with pencil and page today, that those of us who love poetry, literature and writing often go there to get away. It is our escape into a world that takes us to horizons that turn our faces from the treadmill of our days. In some ways it is escapist. But it helps us do the soul-work we need to do. The poem that emerged is dedicated to all of us would-be literary lovers who need to get lost in our words!
Rambled Writing from a Distracted Attentiveness
Ratty messed about in boats,
He traversed moats
And fought with stoats,
As he paddled in his desire
With the Mole.
And as we face the life we’re in,
Searching for stillness amidst the din,
Boxing temptations into sin,
We seek a quiet spot within,
To stop
And still
Our soul.
So I trawl and troll through sites and blogs
On written things and our “Black Dogs”,
Wordy steps in encompassing fogs,
To fill the empty hole.
The hole that seeks its cavernous fill,
Tossing and jostling our tendentious will,
Tales and verses gristly in our mill,
From our pate down to our sole.
Sole of the feet that beat a retreat,
From all that troubles us in our street,
And pain displayed in the eyes we greet,
As we cast ourselves in our role.
A role that says: “do your job!”
And cop tough jabs of life upon your gob,
Only the silent shadows permit a sob,
As you lean upon your pole.
The pole that draws you into words,
Of verses and stories and loaded verbs,
And risks pinning on of labels like: “you’re all nerds!”
Living in a cage.
A cage of image, story and phrases,
A dreamy world of passing phases,
Attracting only certain praises,
From those of similar whim.
Yet to the written word we stand,
In narrative and verse we try our hand,
Joining together in the writers’ band,
For it does sustain our soul.
Simon C.J. Falk 26 March 2014
Simon's still stanza 