December 28

As 2022 draws to a close, it is common practice to "write out" a balance sheet of worries, surprises, things learned that might guide you towards different directions.  The first poem speaks to flavor of much shared at this time of year.  I closed with You reading this, be ready, by William Stafford.  And in between?  A fun romp of a pantoum and a heart-felt reading by Graeme of the Man of Snowy Mountain,   followed by Judith reciting from "Now We are Six" https://www.poetrynook.com/poem/king-johns-christmas

Videos below.   I will post Graeme's comments about the Man of Snowy Mountain separately.

Clearing  by Martha Postlewaite:  

Gentle advice delivered in 8 lines, three sentences.  Bernie brought up that he had seen two versions of the last line, and we believe, given the rhythm, probably it is worthy not worth.  We did not discuss the message, but rather were struck that it felt as if  Postlewaite, a Methodist pastor (The Recovery Church, in Minnesota) involved with addiction and recovery work, was writing this to herself.  She wrote this book, Addiction and Recovery: A Spiritual Pilgrimage about her journey Does it matter if it is a poem or not?  How do we give ourselves to the world...? and do you agree it (both the world and ourselves)is worthy of rescue?  

Charles Baudelaire and I Meet in the Oval Garden by John Yau

Without the poet's note about exploring the possibilities of a pantoum, transformed from the usual 4-line stanza to couplets where he could establish different relationships between the first and second lines. With so much stress on repetition and rhyme, there is risk that any delight of the sound might become sing-song tedium, but not here.  Indeed, the sounds entrance albeit with odd rather old-fashioned references such as "shire" and 19th century Combray (Proust's fictional town in "Search for Lost Time").  As John put it, it's like being at a cocktail party where you don't know anybody where it is hard to enter into the conversation or make sense of what is overheard.  The Oval Garden, as contemporary reference to politics, and Baudelaire's rather suspect position as poete maudit mid-19th century create an interesting meeting of time and place.  Yes, references to border, social groups, mobility and exclusion, to quote the poet's note.   

For a more satisfying ending, the pantoum could have finished with the opening line instead of the first line of the 2nd couplet.  It's an excellent metaphorical question:  Which windowpane are you beating your wings against today? 

The Man from Snowy River by Banjo Paterson.   Many Americans might know the popular ballad, Waltzing Mathilda also written by Andrew Barton Paterson, poet and journalist from New South Wales, Australia.  However, for many of us in the group, many didn't know this wonderful story or his nickname came from the name of his favorite horse, Banjo.  It was a real treat to have our representative Aussie, Graeme Roberts read this swashbuckling tale in which the horse is hero!  Below, remarks about how Graeme prepared the reading (a separate post follows) and his reading of the poem! 

As he put it, he loves "to get myself into the characters and to reflect the emotional pitch and meaning of the "scenes".  

Such ballads are such a delight, but seem to be from a different era, before radio, and well before tv, film, and now rapid and immediate availability of you tubes.  Rhyme, rhythme are crucial for story telling to be passed on, but also lines like "he bore the badge of gameness in his bright and fiery eye, the proud and lofty carriage of his head"... and the contrast of those who doubted such a "slight and weedy" horse...

We too were racing, passing "stringybarks and saplings" the stones flying flint on the steep descent where a single slip meant instant death.  

We were reminded of Robert Service, (Cremation of Sam McGee)  poems by Longfellow (Paul Revere's Midnight Ride), Poe, (The Raven)  or Walter de la Mare (The Listeners) and others we learned as children.  

preliminary remarks by Graeme:

The reading of the poem:

followed by Judith reading King John's Christmas. This was an extra treat !  It confirms the importance of reciting and how we form special emotional attachment to a well-told story!