Snowdonian Stone

Cherry
Poem of the week

By Philip Sidney

Wed, 21 Jan 2015
  • 6051 reads
26 comments
 

This is the stone, thrown molten from a fiery heart

which took its small part in:

The Transformation of the Great Mountain.

 

This is the stone, compressed under frozen weight

which moved with others

to reshape the land of highs and lows.

 

This is the stone, buffeted and buffed

which came to rest

as part of a shingle sheet of the river bed.

 

This is the stone, dried out and laid bare to the air

kicked, then lodged in a Roman sandal

sharpness refocusing thought from birdsong to the road.

 

This is the stone, swiftly rising, above the track, above the trees, above the glinting lake

which fell, hard,

from the beak of a great black bird into crystalline depths.

 

This is the stone, watching the mountain through a clear watery lens,

against which arctic char

brush their scales; unaware they are ancient and rare.

 

This is the stone, trawled from the murk

which, regarded as worthless,

is discarded in favour of the short-lived silver of fish.

 

This is the stone, you hold in your hand.

This is the stone, whose whole history you can never know.

This is the stone.

Certificate U
Poem

Comments

Submitted by Sooz006 on

Well thought out and structured, what I like about this is that you stuck to the idea and didn't ramble off as poet's are want to do.

 

Submitted by Philip Sidney on

Thank you sooz, glad you thought I stuck it out.

Submitted by jeand on

Hi Helen

This is a very clever and well-thought out poem, based on repeating the first phrase - but to very good effect. Well done. It really made me think.

Jean

Jean Day

Submitted by Philip Sidney on

Thanks Jean.

Submitted by Bee on

Hi Philip. I too, liked the repetition in the story as it unfolds, and loved the flow of rhyme - plus it's one of my favourite places ever. Lovely poem - loved saying the title.

Bee

Submitted by Philip Sidney on

Thank you Bee.

Submitted by skinner_jennifer on

There's such a strength to this poem how it forms the land, the fact that the stone will still be here long after we're gone, gives the poem a mystery as in that last line.

Brilliant and very much enjoyed reading.

Jenny.

 

 

Submitted by Philip Sidney on

Thank you so much Jenny

Submitted by Rhiannonw on

I've always enjoyed the idea of inventing autobiography of 'things', and so viewing the passage of time in a different way. You got me looking up Arctic charr in Snowdonia! Rhiannon

 

Submitted by Philip Sidney on

Thanks Rhiannnon.  I found out about the Arctic char when I went into electric mountain in Llanberis.

Submitted by Starfish Girl on

I too like this.

The insignificance of the stone develops into a great idea. Something for us all to consider.

Lindy

Submitted by Philip Sidney on

Thanks you Lindy.

Submitted by Philip Sidney on

 

Submitted by Philip Sidney on

Goodness!  Thank you for picking my poem, that was a surprise!

Submitted by celticman on

stone me, I like a ramble, but you've went through centuries and history and stuff...well done. 

 

Submitted by Philip Sidney on

Thank you celticman :)

Submitted by Geoff Smith on

Well done Philip. There's a cool simplicity to this. So much of a good poem seems to be in the concept and I wish I'd thought of this.

Thanks for reading. I am grateful for your time.

Submitted by Philip Sidney on

Thanks Geoff. 

Submitted by catherine poarch on

This is absoloutely beautiful. I love both the repetition and the unique descriptions. Well deserved poem of the week.

 

Submitted by Philip Sidney on

Thank  you so much Catherine:)

Submitted by Shannan on

... the stone that held the sword ... sorry, I've just done a piece with Merlin! So my mind went there. Congrats on poem of the week - NICE... yes indeed, so much around us in nature that has far more history behind it than we'll ever know... Personally, it is the journey of the water droplet that can hit my nose today, but was the thirst quencher of a dinosaur millenia ago, that always leaves me in wonderous awe! Keep Well $

 

Submitted by Philip Sidney on

Thanks Shannan, love Merlin so look forward to reading your new piece :)

Submitted by VeraClark on

There's something gorgeous about stone history and you've captured the poignancy beautifully

 

Submitted by Philip Sidney on

Thank you so much Vera.

Submitted by forest_for_ever on

For some reason my mind was taken back to a piece by Keith Waterhouse entitled 'advice to a mollusk' and the timeless process of evolution.  I'm sure each reader will be taken somewhere different and that is the beauty of being a reader.  Especially when they come across a wonderful work such as this.  Wish I could write so well.  A fantastic piece of poetry.

 

Submitted by Philip Sidney on

Thank you Forest, what a lovely thing to say :)