My worn grey boots, faded jeans
And knitted hat - Time to leave, my love,
Head to the light, the warmth, the furthest field
Where friends found stones, built boundary dykes
And dug crisscross ditches
That old souls fall into when they walk with me
And the inversion rises to reveal
A story and song-shaped landscape
I smell the dew-drenched clover which cleanses my mind
Of right and wrong and thoughts awry.
Inspired by James K Baxter’s poem A Pair of Sandals. To remind me of Cumbria and all the beautiful moments that the light and landscape provide! The above photo was taken almost one year ago from Loughrigg Fell near Ambleside. An early morning walk provided an amazing cloud inversion.
September 2023 is Blood Cancer Awareness Month. It is also Child Cancer Awareness Month. Every day 10 children in the UK are diagnosed with cancer. Of those lucky enough to survive, many will have long-term side-effects that may significantly impact their lives forever.
I am posting one poem per day to recognise this and raise money for the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust. This charity provides sailing and other outdoor adventures for children and young people aged 8-24 who have been treated for cancer. But it’s more than that. There’s a package of support around this including siblings, return trips, volunteering opportunities and so on. The Trust also works hard to ensure their work is environmentally sustainable. You can make a donation HERE!
For me, this is a moving poem which encapsulates the feeling of otherworldliness, and how close the different worlds might be. There is a sense of anticipation and joy in heading to the light and warmth, which is belied by the ‘worn’ boots, the ‘faded’ jeans and the sense of an ending, in leaving and heading to the ‘furthest field’.
I find the use of the past tense incredibly poignant, and again there are references to boundaries and liminal spaces and falling. I wonder though whether there is also a sense of heaviness dropping away, especially as the cloud then rises and the landscape is revealed, along with all the stories and songs of a lifetime, many lifetimes.
I love the idea of the dew rinsing away thought, leaving pure experience. I sort of wish, however, that the poem could end with the image of ‘dew-drenched clover’ rather than ‘thoughts awry’. The whole poem seems to be about inversions and opposites - sensibility and thought, sky and earth. Are there simple opposites, like right and wrong, or does everything merge into this moment of feeling and experience, sorrows and beauty?
I would also like to comment on the James K Baxter poem. Juliet, I am really enjoying comparing these poems that have inspired you with your own creations! On the days when I have time in the mornings, it is such an indulgence and pleasure for me to read, think and write about them, and to share your exploration of words and meanings! Thank you so much for setting this up for us! (And also of course for the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust.)
I’m not sure whether I completely understand A Pair of Sandals! The poet seems to be mustering his energy to confront some personal demons by looking to the wisdom of the past and uncovering difficult truths (going out into the darkness and cold, discovering old bones, ‘broken windows’ and ‘bird dung’!). There is a glimmer of hope in the belief that his forebears may instruct him and that he will feel better when the sun rises and this ‘Lord’s’ arrows will pierce his thick skull - he refers to the mind as a shapeless lump of clay!
I prefer your poem, Juliet!! ❤️