after the Solstice
a full moon comes
the sky wrung out in cold acrylic
a communion wafer
all day it has lingered
blown out of the night
now in anchor against drift
whispering
the falling point
of water
is the distance
between
a velocity of tears
and the upbeat
from anticipation
to departure
evening mist tangles wipers
transfers the rest of my day
into a slower arc
this glove of Winter’s challenge
a freckle on
sky in dawdle at light fall
your animal self knows the truth
make fire eat a warm meal
we settle in the spaces
of the splotchy engraves of living
where the lunar phases wait
Abandoned Soliloquies UnCollected Press Ellicot City MD 2019, p.23
Cover by Henry Stanton
James Walton Poetry 
Dear James â love the painting references, especially âwe settle in the spaces of the splotchy engraves of livingâ. Makes me feel like going to light the fire, but I canât sit in front of it with the laptop as canât be bothered transferring all the work I have to do from desktop to laptop. Most years I know the solstice has arrived, because the chooks start laying again, but for some reason this year, one or two have kept laying all the time, keeping us in eggs, especially now the grandchild has moved out. Warm regards, Virginia Dr Virginia Lowe Create a Kids’ Book createakidsbook.com.au PO Box 2, Ormond Victoria 3204 ph: 03 9578 5689 mob: 0400 488 100 Stories, Pictures and Reality: Two children tell (Routledge 2007) Lines Between Virginia and John Lowe (Melbourne Poets Union 2018) Description: Description: Lines Between front cover
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks Virginia. I miss my chooks, they were always good for a chat. They’re such characters.
LikeLike
Oh, that’s beautiful! And conjures up the atmosphere so well that I, who hate the cold, both feel like shivering and delight in the beauty of the scene evoked.
LikeLike
That evening caught me like that too!
LikeLike
A beautiful poem. I am enchanted by the title “Abandoned Soliloquies”. Soliloquy is one of my favorite words, and it’s seldom seen. I first came across it in a Western novel by Zane Grey when I was 12 or 13. His hero frequently soliloquized! I’ve kept it in my vocabulary ever since! Great title!
LikeLike
A beautiful poem. I am enchanted by the title “Abandoned Soliloquies”. Soliloquy is one of my favorite words, and it’s seldom seen. I first came across it in a Western novel by Zane Grey when I was 12 or 13. His hero frequently soliloquized! I’ve kept it in my vocabulary ever since! Great title!
LikeLike
Thanks so much Beverly. Ah, the title is often the greater challenge! It’s taken from the poem which gives the collection its name. I too was a reader of Grey – were we permanently effected? The Solstice poem was the way it happened, driving but really so much going on.
LikeLike
Absolutely lovely and I esp., love “we settle in the spaces
of the splotchy engraves of living”
LikeLike
Thanks so much. Yes, the problem is sometimes getting out of those splotches.
LikeLike