First words after Christmas are difficult. Lethargy has us tightly in its grip. Start early and soon, I was admonished with a few to counteract the effect. So, here I am.
Margot, my wife, celebrated a significant birthday on the 19th of December. I have had the custom of writing something on these occasions so I did again this year. I had pause to reflect on our 38 years of knowing each other. What shape would that take in a poem if I could write it, I wondered. There were so many thoughts and so many things to say. In the end, having read Carol Ann Duffy’s wonderful “A Formal Complaint” I took the form, a Sestina, and what follows emerged. I hope you enjoy reading it.
I wish you all the very best for the New Year against all the odds of a spiralling world.
Sestina for Margot
She sits at the keyboard, a talented
pianist, her hands glide in a caring
thoughtful way as she reads the piece, happy
that her fingers still make that lovely
tone and she is able to show a strength
for which she is known and is pleasing.
Evening finds her in the kitchen pleasing
the family with dishes her talented
cooking produces, all the time caring
that the young ones eat well, are happy
on their way to bed, sharing their lovely
kisses and smiles that give her a strength.
As partner and companion she shows strength
of love and affection that pleases
her. He is awed by the talented
life-long friend who continues her caring
of everything. She creates happiness
in such a way that feels rich and lovely.
She makes life long friends who find her lovely
to be with, who marvel at the strength
of their relationships, which greatly pleases
her sense of a good life, to have talented
people around her who are also caring,
who set out to make others happy.
Her mothering created a happy
home for her daughters who were lovely,
funny and delightful, who could reach a strength
of that was especially pleasing being
to their mother who nurtured their talents
throughout their lives in a way that was caring.
Life has not always been very caring.
Events have challenged the core of her happy
being, shredded the fabric of her lovely
way of doing, threatened her inner strength
created a time that was not pleasing,
which she survived because of her talents.
Such a talented, very lovely
partner so pleases, continues to care,
gives strength to their being, makes them happy.
Peter Clarke
December 19, 2018
Marguerite Colgan
01.01.2019 09:05
Peter, love this long strong ribbon, rolling out your appreciated companion, talent, caring, pleasing , her talent, her gift of pleasing. Bet she'll be there for many birthdays to see herself again,
Allegra
29.12.2018 20:42
Ahh That's a proper love poem. Dearest Peter and such clever use of the sestina form. Happy significant birthday Margot. and Happy new year to you both. XX
Pearl Marache
29.12.2018 19:04
Lucky women to have these well deserved compliments voiced
Clíodhna
27.12.2018 22:06
Absolutely beautiful! Thanks for sharing this!
Sue Phillips
26.12.2018 18:42
I love this Peter it is a gentle and strong testimony to a wonderful person. The loving, accepting atmosphere you and Margot have created in your home has given me encouragement and belief in life.XS
Rosy Wilson
26.12.2018 17:43
Amazing Peter both poem and person you celebrate so brave to write a sestina not a form Ive ever come to terms with. Im sure Margot was also thrilled with your anthology for her. Seasons greetings
Latest comments
25.11 | 22:15
Grief is experience through the mundane. Simple but powerful. The accompanying image really compliments the poem.
07.11 | 11:14
Hi Peter,
A great observation! Social media can be a scary place... I also need to reduce my time there
Hugs,
John.x
06.11 | 16:24
A great one, Peter, in the context you describe. I don't read social media myself, I doubt my equilibrium could stand it. 'The balance of his mind disturbed' yes, I think it would be.
06.11 | 15:59
Yes, gossip is a weapon of mass destruction.
In my business as well as personal life I have zero tolerance.
And What About . . .
I have neglected this for far too long, and now it is time again. But what to write about, what poem to share? The world is packed with catastrophic possibilities. Such choices: dementia/genocide colluder or extreme narcissism in the White House; a hung parliament in the UK; the reunification of the USSR with a tyrannical megalomaniac at its head; the eradication of a race by a genocidal government in Gaza; the African continent reduced to bankruptcy and regression to male tribalism; in Ireland, even with an appalling electoral turnout the routing of the far right and Sinn Féin may offer some comfort except we face another FF/FG fiasco. Mother Nature rumbles on its rampage, raging against the human species’ abject destruction of the planet’s habitat. What the . . .
Being facetious right now is my only defence against absolute despair. So read, comment, pass it on, and send feedback.
City Walking and Cycling take 680,000
cars per day off the road
Irish Time Heading
More and more folk, cycling and walking, may
keep gases from greenhouses further at bay
This newspaper heading illustrates vividly
thousands of cyclists and walkers assiduously
stopping some cars on their journey
pushing them aside - making drivers quite surly
Mountains of metal - like scrapyards of sculpture
keep bicycle lanes quite safe - at this juncture
The new revolution is well underway
don’t get behind wheels - hear what they say:
Cars and their fumes play a very big part
the smell is quite phew don’t mention cow farts
Wear out your shoe leather walking
greet travellers with smiles while you’re talking
Force councils to make better spaces
to go out and about roaming those places
where vitamin D, and oxygen from trees
fill our lungs and our brains so we see
how to save us and this magical planet
except for some vicious old tyrants goddammit
Peter Clarke, 18th March 2024