and I haven’t written a single line:
it was too sweet too perfect for poetry.
from early the stars then dawn
an orange tint on a green shot sea.
all morning, the clouds aligned
perfectly to convey as if by Hokusai himself.
not a line today though the leaves on my pumpkin vine
applauded in the wind 100 thumbs up
and my old dog rolled her rump
on the lawn laughing the sunshine.
at dinner we talked Palermo down-scrolled our phones.
was this really only two years ago?
oh that place — the caponata, the footballers at the next table
they were so young and the bread the bread...
‘I know it,’ our waiter said. ‘Just off the square, my cousin...’
as he sloshed more wine. by then we were a little drunk
you leaned against me giggling and I (as ever) felt
the years and all we’d undone.
I’ve written nothing
though we stood in the dark kids again
finding figures in moonbright clouds a koala
a camel into a rabbit an angel blown backwards.
Pioneer Park was quiet for once all those resting souls
and there the bells of Monreale still calling the faithful
ah, what a day a perfect sweet peach
and I haven’t written a single line.
Image: South Wind, Clear Sky (Gaifū kaisei), also known as Red Fuji, from the series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjūrokkei) c/- Museum of Fine Arts, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
A circular poem written for Dverse, the poets pub where I’m hosting tonight (bar opens Thursday 3.00pm New York time). Tonight we’re talking about circular poems. A circular poem is one which starts in one place, then journeys away from that place and then circles back to the beginning. Why not drop by and join the fun.
Pioneer Park in Wollongong NSW is a small park in the centre of town which was established over one of the first cemeteries in Wollongong.
And here’s an amazing piece by American composer Ben Johnston (1926-2019) his String Quartet No. 9 – with the Kepler String Quartet (I don’t know what micro-tones are but this piece uses…)
Peter Frankis writes 
Your poem is wonderful. About as perfect as a poem can be. I even know your park’s locale. I lived in Wollongong for 1 1/2 years in 1971 and 72. This technique obviously worked beautifully for you.
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Thanks Judy, it’s still there, the roses, the manicured hedges and the old folk walking their apartment dogs beneath the ‘no dogs’ sign. 🙂
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I must admit I don’t remember the park. Would it have been there back then?
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It stopped being a cemetery in 1940 – and was handed to the council as a public park back then – but may have been neglected (like many things) until much later…
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A very engaging piece, Peter! Looking forward for the bar to open, this prompt looks awesome! 😁
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See you there Lucy 👍
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Oh, this is lovely. You’ve raised a tingle here.
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My goodness this is gorgeous! 💝 I love the nod to Hokusai 😀 a fine artist of the Edo period and the way the poem goes full circle as you describe the wonderful events of the day. This.. is .. perfection. 🙂
Thank you for the glorious prompt! I quite enjoyed myself 😀
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Thanks so – and glad you liked the prompt (it’s a bit of a ramble)
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I love the way you’ve laid out this poem, Peter, the completed circle, and the Hokusai image to illustrate it. I especially love the ‘orange tint on a green shot sea’ – I didn’t need to see the picture to see that vivid image in my mind – and the joyfulness of the leaves on the pumpkin vine and the sold dog rolling her rump. It’s an intimate poem, but I feel involved in everything, as if I was there. Lines well written.
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This is such a lovely poem. I like the way it rambles, describing the memory of that perfect day, and then comes full circle.
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A day ‘too perfect for poetry’ – how wonderful! I think these days are poetry itself. I’m lucky enough to have many such. You really brought this one to life.
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A real peach of a composition and an experience at some point you were able to compose into an intimate sharing for the reader’s enjoyment. Its details say it is more than fiction. I love every bit of it, from the top image to the musical selection. There is something to be said for staying put as you become bonded with a place and its history.
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I do love both that peach and a day too perfect for poetry… and still, the poetry comes flowing, may it be that nature is the same as poetry.
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spacy and airy as can be, Peter. Marvelous return.
One thing’s certain: you CAN’T say you haven’t written anything. You have.
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Read left to right; just left; just right. Three gems. I think I can honestly say that I adore it done *right*.
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I admit it, I’m not a fan of poems with blanks in the lines that wander over the page. I never know where to go. I’m like that in the car when a road without markings unexpectedly widens at a junction and I’m not sure where I’m suppose to put myself.
I loved this poem though, and the blanks acted as disjoints in the speech, the way memory or a group conversation works. The images are lovely.
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I enjoyed your memories as sweet as a peach, and you hadn’t written a single line, it sounds like it all just flowed from the heart! ❤
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This was a wonderful journey Peter, out, around, then back. A true pleasure to read! I hadn’t written a single line for several days — but arthritis in m’fingers, not a peach of a day…
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You take us with you into this memory and then leave us sitting, peach in hand, wondering where the time went.
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Add me to the things undone by that moment. Wow! What a poem!
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Wow! This is amazing! Beautifully done.
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Wonderful poem, Peter, there is such elegance to it. Brought back memories of Palermo too, had a great time in Sicily, a little while back…..JIM
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An engaging poem that takes the reader on a journey. I especially like “from early the stars then dawn”
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ah, what a day
a perfect sweet peach
and I haven’t written a single line
The park and the goings-on there are so mesmerizing that one is buoyed by just being there forgetting the intention of writing. Wonderful write, Pete!
Hank
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Reminds me that we don’t know perfect even when it kicks us in the caboose.Not a single line, but a glorious plenty … I’m not a fan of jarring lines but these conspire well to decant a perfect moment present and long past. Great challenge Peter, and a response sweet as a peach.
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an intriguing poem and style, great art … loving memories!
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This was so lovely Peter. I particularly enjoyed the way the words scattered on to the paper as your thoughts were recollected. It made for such a special poem and a beautiful write. Especially as you never wrote a thing that day! ☺️💕
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Thanks Christine – glad you liked.
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You still have not written a single line, you have lived them together. I seldom have lived a single day through writing as closely as I lived this one with you today. Maybe not since I read Portrait of an Artist by Joyce, or the name day party by Chekhov. Truly
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A perfect circle poem, Peter. It meanders along, and comes right back to the peach.
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Thanks so. – the day was exactly like that…except for the waiter – who was gruff and surly.
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😠
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