THE VOICE OF MY LAND (Poem, Burns-inspired)

Inspired by “MY HEART’S IN THE HIGHLANDS”

 

By Robert Burns

(25 January 1759 – 21 July 1796)

 The best-known portrait of Burns,

By Alexander Nasmyth, 1787 

THE VOICE OF MY LAND

By Alexandra Palmer

I.

The voice of my land, you’re my blessing, my pain,

I hear it a-calling again and again;

Calling me homeward and pleading me to stay –

We’ve only grown closer since I went away.

My Motherland distant, we’re never apart,

In valleys of mem’ry you cradle  my heart;

You sing to it softly your song bitter-sweet,

As towards the eternal my days swiftly fleet.

II.

I know that one day I shall see your sweet face,

And into my chest my own heart you will place;

Upon my tired head you will lay a dry wreath,

And happy and peaceful I’ll draw my last breath.

The voice of my land, you’re my blessing, my pain,

I hear it a-calling again and again;

Calling me homeward and pleading me to stay –

We’ve only grown closer since I went away.

Live for the Love of it,

The Happy Amateur

Image credit Wikipedia

"August - asters..." (Tsvetaeva in translation)

M. Tsvetaeva (1892-1941)

  

"August - asters..."
            Translated by Alexandra Palmer

Август – астры, Август – звезды, Август – грозди Винограда и рябины Ржавой – август! Полновесным, благосклонным Яблоком своим имперским, Как дитя, играешь, август. Как ладонью, гладишь сердце Именем своим имперским: Август! – Сердце! Месяц поздних поцелуев, Поздних роз и молний поздних! Ливней звездных – Август! – Месяц Ливней звездных!   Shared on dVerse Live for the love of it The Happy Amateur

August – asters, August – starlight, August – bunches Of ripe grapes and rusty rowan Berries – August! With benev’lent, sound, befitting Emperors, your apple regal, Like a child, you’re playing, August. Like a palm, your name smooths heartache, Emperors befitting, regal: August! – Heartache! Month of tardy, late hour kisses, Tardy roses, lightnings tardy! Showers starry – August! – Month of Showers starry!

Nativity (animation)

Enjoy:

Today is Russian Orthodox Christmas Day.

Live for the Love of it,

The Happy Amateur

A tribute to the waning gibbous (poem)

Samuel Peralta over at dVerse encourages us to pay tribute to the waning gibbous by means of writing a

“single or a string of lunes, in whateve variation you feel like embracing

-a 5-3-5 syllabic Kelly lune, or

-a 3-5-3 word Collom lune.”

Well, moonstruck as I am, I chose to embrace something in between and accidentally created a new form.

a 3-5-3 syllabic Palmer loon (cough) lune

Daylight fades

Sister of the night

You emerge

Your headdress

The exquisite Lune

Glows softly

Your smile is

Benev'lent, your hand

Holds a knife

The sharp blade

Lodges in my heart

Until dawn

Memories

Sweet could-have-beens fall

Dark blood drops

Morning stirs

The phoenix heart lives

Aches to burn

Reluctant

You take your leave, but

Not for long

We are one

The gibbous moon bound

Nostalgia

Live for the Love of it,

The Happy Amateur

Do read about the form and find links to lunes here:

http://dversepoets.com/2013/01/03/la-lune/