Poetry Day - To friendship and to knowing
Since yesterday was about friendship, I decided to post a poem I wrote on the subject. I don’t actually think this is a good poem. After a road trip south with some friends last year it was stated that we needed a commemorative poem, so I sat down and wrote this basically in one sitting the day after our return, mainly just for us. I always intended to come back and work it into something better and a little more universal, but I never did. Consequently, it is so full of internal references and double entendres that it will probably hardly make sense if you weren’t there (most lines in it can be read at face value and also figuratively eg “times spitting our distaste” refers to the moment when we all sampled the famous local mineral water from an old pump and spluttered it everywhere – it is an acquired taste! – as well as a conversation in which we all vented our disgust of a particular thing), but hopefully there is some kind of gist of friendship in it, without a lot of footnotes.
Further, the first verse is taken from a song by Sara Groves, which was basically my prompt. We are all fans of Sara Groves, and one of the road companions introduced me to her. So, when one of them came up the idea of guest DJ entertainment for the road trip, I got a pre-release download of Sara’s new album at the time, and we listened to it on the way. I have been listening to that album again the last two days, particularly this song. But, without further ado, here is the poem.
“Raise a glass to friendship
And to knowing
You don’t have to go alone.
We’ll raise our hearts to share
Each others burdens
On this road.”
Sydney, Berrima, Golbourn
Second-hand books
And first-hand stories open
Gundagai, Holbrook, Curios
Quirks and temptations
Like jack-o-lantern
Thai stop in Shepparton
Journeys in music
Songs that make fires beautiful
Slowing the pace on the
Darkest stretch of road
Tale so hurt full
A white house in Daylesford
Stories hold open
Each old room door, and tell
A home-wares collection
Of varied history
For us as well
Mornings in a garden
Growing in
Emotion as a language
Too short to unpack things
But long enough
To hang baggage
Long walk, long talks, cafes
A lake, a spring
Hearts watered different ways
Afternoon wandering lost
Comprehending later
These are our days
A coke with you, a cake of
Sweetest richness
Times spitting our distaste
Sun-baking, then reaching
For blankets and that
One safe place
The high time ends too soon
We must return
Go down the road we came
Seeing other parts in
Light and dark, each
Other not the same.
ALP