after Rilke
After the spoiled summer
grey grey grey
grant us, Lord, this
one honeyed hour
for a generation
of flies and creepy-crawlies.
Alert
all birds to nests
frogspawn and rushes down.
Allow two more days
before the cutter,
blade stoned
to a razor
must
stir.
Image: The Close of Day, hand-coloured postcard early 20th century by the Sydney-based Broadhurst Post Card Company c/- State Library of NSW A seasonal quadrille for Dverse, the poets’ pub where De Jackson is stirring things up.
Here’s Rilke’s wonderful (and odd) ‘Day in Autumn‘
and here’s Echo & the Bunnymen with ‘Spare us the Cutter‘ – real glaciers and big hair.
Peter Frankis writes 
You put so much into 44 words – that Faustian ‘hold the moment’ before the ever ensuing change. Excellent concrete stanza in form and sounds for the final chop.
p.s. thank you for the link to Rilke poem which I am not sure I had read before
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Such gorgeous imagery. And the prayer for one honeyed hour for a generation of flies and creepy crawlies is so powerful. Also, the link to Rilke’s poem and then the commentary by the translator shifted the narrative of my entire morning. Thank you for such a thoughtful quadrille.
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I like the change of voice in the final stanza, it’s tight and powerful, as if autumn’s voice has entered a conversation. Nice.
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Beautifully woven.
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Thank you – the quadrille is such a neat form
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It sure is.
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This has an ominous feel to me, perhaps after what Australia has suffered these last months. Calling to providence is usually a last resort. I hope you get that honeyed hour (lovely phrase).
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ominous and odd is what I was trying for – so thanks Jane.
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🙂
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Ohhhh, THIS:
“grant us, Lord, this
one honeyed hour”
Fantastic.
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Thanks so much.
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I really love this, especially in light of the terrible summer you’ve had.
grey, grey, grey is a great repetition.
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