Wool

Cherry

By Philip Sidney

Mon, 08 Jun 2015
  • 2683 reads
16 comments
 

Lambs follow the others

from the meadow, with its sweet grass

and yellow flowers smiling back at the sun,

into the mountain folds, the secret places

that sheep from ancient times

remembered and passed on.

 

They do not slip on rough shale, but

place newly hardened cloven feet

with steady, firm footing, sure,

as they stand exultant

on sheer cliffs - the merest ledge,

that this world beneath its milky sky

holds no mystery, only quiet joy

in sedge and moss and thrift and berries,

in the nudge and nuzzle of companionship,

in the bleat and caw and echo

of the high grounds.

 

Faraway, in the town, tourists stroke

blankets made from Icelandic wool,

rough and soft in equal measure,

full of the colours of land and sky

and dreams of lambs half-sleeping

from another time.

 

 

Certificate 12
Poem

Comments

Submitted by Deliberately Ev... on

This is so beautiful and melodic. People pass fields with sheep grazing so often they are barely given a second thought and yet here you have given them a pedestal on which to be admired. Lovely!

The beat of your heart is the mellifluent rhythm to my soul.

Submitted by Philip Sidney on

Thanks AE. : )

Submitted by skinner_jennifer on

You've captured the essence of these sheep grazing, the dangerous isolation that only creatures like these can exist in. It always amazes me how the lambs don't slip on the narrow ridges of cliff tops, but are able to follow in their mother's footsteps.

Much food for thought here and very much enjoyed reading.

Jenny.

 

 

Submitted by airyfairy on

Loved the juxtaposition of the lambs in the wild and the tourists, with the wool as the link between ancient and modern.  The way animals pass down their knowledge and wisdom is endlessly fascinating.  Thank you for a great read.

Submitted by love_writing on

Beautifully written makes you reflect on nature....and our commercialism of it. Love watching the lambs in the fields, running and galloping like children.

love_writing

Submitted by Philip Sidney on

smileyThank you all for your lovely comments! 

 

Thanks for for the cherries too. 

Submitted by VeraClark on

As soft and fuzzy as being wrapped up in wool and sang to. Your poetry appeals to all the senses. Some delicate images and lulling qualities to it, somehow.

 

Submitted by Philip Sidney on

Thanks Vera, I'm so glad it had this effect!

Submitted by Bee on

Seriously lovely. All that scenic description and atmosphere brought back to earth with the rough and soft feel of the blankets which conjure up the scenes again in the imagination of those who touch the wool. Loved this.

Bee

Submitted by jeand on

Hi Helen

Another Iceland piece for your collection. I can't honestly remember seeing sheep when we were there. I thought the moss covered rocks looked like dead sheep - and hated those vast graveyards. But I have very fond memories of the sheep in New Zealand, who were given preference over the cows for the better pastures. It was the cows who struggled for food on the high slopes.

Jean

Jean Day

Submitted by Philip Sidney on

Yes, those Icelandic sheep are well hidden!  I lived in a cattle area in NZ, sheep too but my day to day was walking through fields of freisians.  Now It's cars. :(

Submitted by Art of the Diver on

My brother and I learnt how to play rugby from tackling the lambs for docking as nippers, of course the dogs had far more finese. I know the title and storyline is wool, but this excellent poem has also come close to describing the life of a couple of feral farmkids (as we were). Those 4 inch wide sheep tracks around the cliffs were equally worn by our bare feet... great read, thanks yet again.

Submitted by Philip Sidney on

Love that country way of life, we were the same, it's a wonder we survived!

Submitted by Art of the Diver on

But we did Philip, and it gave us greater depth in whom we would ultimately become wink

Submitted by hilary west on

This is quite beautiful in its simplicity but then the best things are!

 

Submitted by Philip Sidney on

Thank you.  :-)