Elgar’s Hills

Day 20 and here is a poem about Edward Elgar’s inspiring hills for Napowrimo.

Around the corner
from Elgar’s house,
I see his favourite hills
every day.
Malvern,
where the skies rise
from the hills that
he found inspiring.

Polly Robinson © 2013

English: Malvern Hills in June 2005 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

From The Dark Side

Claudia is tending bar at the dVerse Open Link Night tonight and said ‘Two of my fav authors are C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien who created fantasy worlds.’  Both of these fine writers loved to walk the Malvern Hills. Go up there on a fine day and if you’re quieter than a fieldmouse creeping over the hillocks this is what you could see …

They steal babies, issue changelings,
Whisk the breath from the weak and the dying,
Suck on columbine, nectar, wine,
Live in dark drear hedges divine,
Worry farmers, worry swine,
Worry sheep and creatures bovine.
With their green-stained teeth,
Sharp, pinlike, pointy,
Bright waxed blond hair
That stands up dainty,
Knuckled hands and flaked skin fingers,
Thin, spiked nails like chiselled razors,
Fine and faintly whiskered chins,
Spite in faces, malevolent eyes,
Nothing can stop them, they’re from the dark side.

Polly Robinson © 2012

Your morning challenge: vote on the final lines of Artistry In The Malverns

I’ve had a couple of offline comments on the rhythm in the final lines of Artistry In The Malverns ~ some of you like the dissonance in the original final lines and say it makes the poem more interesting, less plodding, as it stops you and makes you think about what’s being said, and some of you don’t see how it fits and would like consistency.  Now, whilst this is largely down to your reading of the poem / your expectations of poetry / your personal preferences, it would be most interesting if you’d vote for the one you like best from the two versions below.

Just reply with A or B and a comment if you wish to make one

Here is the original of Artistry In The Malverns, let’s call it A:

A

Scented hot hay
Hints of damp decay,
Dank smouldering fires
Smokey blue Shires.
Dogs’ yaps ricochet
On archaic byways.
Buzzards ride, sway,
Swoop on small prey.
Fanthorpe and Auden
Write of Malvern
Hills echo poets
With Elgar’s discern-
ing ear.

B

Scented hot hay
Hints of damp decay,
Dank smouldering fires
Smokey blue Shires.
Dogs’ yaps ricochet
On archaic byways.
Buzzards ride, sway,
Swoop on small prey.
Fanthorpe and Auden
Write of Malvern Hills
That echo poets with
Elgar’s discerning ear.

So Excited! With thanks to Catherine Crosswell

Gosh, *blush* – I’ve got something to tell you – so excited!  I have an award!  Thank you to the multi-talented Catherine Crosswell of Cupcake Perusings who has nominated me for a Kreativ Blogger Award.

Evidently, part of the deal or ‘one of the conditions of the award’ is to share six random facts about myself then nominate 2 or 3 blogsters to carry along the award baton if they so wish.  So, here goes, six random facts:

1. My husband, Geoff, and I met at a creative writing class way back when.
2. I’m an inveterate researcher so had to find out where the Kreativ Blogger Award began – the originator was a Norwegian blogger called Hulda according to Kreativ Blogger SimonFoodFavourites and many others.
3. I once fell down a pothole and tore every ligament in my left ankle – indescribably painful – almost as painful as all those clever folk who kept assuring me ‘you’d have been better to break it.’ Grrrrr.
4. I wanted to live in Oregon when I was growing up – too many John Wayne movies, I guess.
5. My daughter calls me ‘arty farty’ (heh-heh)
6. I met Bernard Bresslaw at a Round Table fete in Malvern donks ago, he was very, very tall with enormous feet.

And finally, my nominations for the Kreativ Blogger Award are:

Geoff Robinson – OK, I know, hardly impartial (!) but anyone with over 25k hits on their site must be worth a look (see ‘Ramblings’)

The talented lovely Holly Magill

Amazing Stacey ‘Eve Redwater’