in front of the garden gate – JezzieG
Dating
Form: Free Verse with echoes
‘Hi,’ the first-word shyness can muster
A brief smile before eyes look down
Behind the mask of self-confidence
It’s a casual chat, say ‘Hi’ something like that
Before heading down to the coffee shop
And don’t let the mask talk too much
The conversation flowed from the ‘hi’
How life was going down and all that
The mask chatted then said, ‘See you again?’
©JezzieG2024
No Master
Indeed this is the sweet life! my hand
Is under no proud man’s command;
There is no voice to break my rest
Before a bird has left its nest;
There is no man to change my mood,
When I go nutting in the wood;
No man to pluck my sleeve and say —
I want thy labour for this day;
No man to keep me out of sight,
When that dear Sun is shining bright.
None but my friends shall have command
Upon my time, my heart and hand;
I’ll rise from sleep to help a friend,
But let no stranger orders send,
Or hear my curses fast and thick,
Which in his purse-proud throat would stick
Like burrs. If I cannot be free
To do such work as pleases me,
Near woodland pools and under trees,
You’ll get no work at all, for I
Would rather live this life and die
A beggar or a thief, than be
A working slave with no days free
William Henry Davies
Born: 3 July 1871, Newport, Wales
Nationality: Welsh
Died: 26 September 1940, Gloucestershire, England
Davies was a poet and writer. He spent much of his life as a tramp or hobo in the UK and the USA yet became one of the most popular poets of his time. His themes included his observations on life’s hardships, the human condition reflected in nature his travels as a tramp, and the characters he met. Davies is classified as a Georgian Poet, however much of his writing is not typical of the group in style and theme
Gwawdodyn Byr Notes
A Welsh form, the Gwawdodyn Byr is a 4-line stanza form. Lines 1 and 2 consist of 9-syllables each and lines 3 and 4 have 10-syllables each. Lines 1, 2, and four end rhyme. Line 3 contains an internal rhyme with its end line.
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Example
First Day of May by JezzieG
In the echoes of those days long past
The queen of the May can dance at last
At the height of Spring ancient voices sing
And the long summer days are coming fast
Echoes Of Time
1975
Electronic
Klaus Schulze
Electronic
Born: 4 August 1947, Berlin, Germany
Nationality: German
Died: 26 April 2022
Schulze was an electronic music pioneer, composer, and musician. He was a member of the Krautrock bands Tangerine Dream, Ash Ra Tempel, and the Cosmic Jokers under the alias of Richard Wahnfried before he launched a solo career
Le Mystère Catholique
1889
Religious Art
Oil on canvas
Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Musée Départemental, France
Denis painted ‘Le Mystère Catholique’ when he was just 18 years old. It is a depiction of a Catholic ritual celebrating one of the Christian mysteries, the appearance of the Angel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary.
Maurice Denis
Symbolism, Les Nabis, Post-Impressionism, Japanism
Born: 25 November 1870, Granville, France
Nationality: French
Died: 13 November 1943, Paris, France
Unique amongst the avant-garde painters of the late 19th century, Denis combined committment to the formal and stylistic innovation with an equally profound sense of tradition in art, culture, and religion. His bright and vibrant paintings express a commitment to abstraction and a reliance on the inner life of the soul. Unlike his peers Denis’ soul shaped by his faith which would also lead to activities such as church renovation and altarpiece design
Inspired by and written for the Ragtag Daily Prompt, my thanks to BushBoy
Form: The Blitz
Stone on stone balanced
Stone revealing ancient history
History standing tall in the future
History speaking of the ancestors
Ancestors sharing etches of wisdom
Ancestor’s memories scribed on walls
Walls shrouding kings
Walls revealing the path to eternity
Eternity beyond mortality
Eternity in the realm of gods
Gods offer magic and mystery
Gods demanding sacrifice
Sacrifice of time and of self
Sacrificial offerings at stone altars made
Made in worshipful humility
Made with the heart and soul
Souls in union with the divine
Souls open to the cycle of existence life
Life extending beyond death
Life reborn in nature’s cycle
Cycles turning never-ending
Cycle of seasons turn to years
Years go by centuries
Years challenging time
Time attempts to change
Time keeps passing the same
Same then as is now
Same the cycles of familiarity
Familiar but not of the gods
Familiar beliefs crumble in dust
Dust mingling with dry sand
Dusty clouds as tombs open
Open the past to questioning eyes
Open the mind to ways long-forgotten
Forgotten as a rusty old spoon
Forgotten ways once of tradition
Traditional old-world values
Traditional paths welcome feet again
Again we wonder how
Again we cannot see the evidence
Evidence in front of our eyes
Evidence that answers no questions
Questions how they did it
Questions why stones are standing here
Here in the desert dunes
Here in the verdant fields
Fields with a solid circle
Fields surrounded by walls of stone
Stone
Circle
©JezzieG2024
From the Back of the Wardrobe 