6 January 2018

Moorland


Moorland 

'Twas a rancorous day
Grey earth and sky gathering
And an arctic blast smattering
Freezing sleet
On the unshorn hummocks
Of that desolate heath.
January.
And the old winding track
Become a gushing stream bed
Oe’r which runoff gurgled
To an engorged brook ahead.
Wind lashed I splashed
Up to Brown Edge
Where an ancient cairn
Marks the way
And sheltered in the lee of it
Surveying the valley below
But all I could see of it
Was gloom as another
Blast of wet snow
Merged with the murk
Of that godless moor.


32 comments:

  1. Your words beautifully convey the sensations of being on that moor.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Linda. I tried very hard to paint a picture of the walk I took on Thursday afternoon.

      Delete
  2. The bleakness is depicted brilliantly both in word and in picture....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. A different environment from your neck of the woods.

      Delete
    2. Yes, it is...in many ways...and each in many ways has its own unique beauty.

      Delete
  3. I don't know of any moorland or cairns 'round these parts, but for sure winter has its bleak moments! A lovely, descriptive poem. Who owns the vast expanse of moorland in your photo and does nothing useful grow well there?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No nothing grows there but rough grass and heather. Upland sheep can find some sustenance there and the red grouse hide in the heather. The land used to be owned by an aristocrat but now it belongs to The Peak District National Park.

      Delete
  4. You get the sense of cold and isolation on a barren peak. Is an eagle watching the valley below?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We don't have eagles in South Yorkshire any more apart from me with my eagle eyes.

      Delete
  5. Beautiful. I've always wanted to see the moors if England. Your poem painted a vivid picture of one for me.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. *of* England.

      Delete
    2. There are no moors like this in the south of England but plenty in Yorkshire and Northumberland.

      Delete
  6. The muddy track looks less than inviting!
    Even though I know every word in your poem, I probably wouldn't think of them too easily. Do you use a thesaurus or do you tap into your vocab more easily?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sometimes I consider synonyms ( a facility within Word) but mostly the words just emerge from my grey matter.

      Delete
  7. Lovely photos and the poem desribes them beautifully.
    I've learnt new words here: rancorous, unshorn and murk.
    Greetings Maria x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for reading this poem Maria and for thinking about it.

      Delete
  8. What a lovely shot at the top with the light coming through the clouds and the grey below. I'm with kylie; I've often wondered how hard and long you labour over your poetry or if it rolls out of your head mostly formed! You certainly have an extensive vocabulary and put it to good use.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. See my response to Kylie above. I like to make poems that will speak to others and therefore never set out to deliberately invest my poetry with unfamiliar words.

      Delete
  9. Have you thought of publishing a book of your poems, with suitable photos? The one above makes me think it would be a good idea to share your poetry and photography with a much wider audience than blogland.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for calling by again CG. This year I hope to pull a selection of my poems together and I shall publish them in an e-book as getting anything through a proper publisher is like climbing Everest in your pyjamas.

      Delete
  10. For me, the first picture has breathtaking quality. It does not need words to speak to me, but the words you did add are just perfect for it. Coppa's idea is good - I would definitely buy the book, with or without poems.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. When taking photographs in the countryside, sometimes you must remember to turn around. That's how I saw the first picture.

      Delete
  11. A rancorous day - I like that expression. Your words match the photographs wonderfully well.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Sue. Most kind to say that.

      Delete
  12. I'm off to get a coffee to warm up.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Put a nip of whisky in there too ADDY.

      Delete
  13. I felt as though I was there, but glad I wasn't.
    Briony
    x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tom wouldn't have approved of you walking out with me.

      Delete
  14. Lewis perfectly described.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I know you have summery days there too - well, one in a decade perhaps.

      Delete
  15. Definitely a day to stay indoors! But having said that, you got some great photos and your poem describes everything to a tee.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's nice to feel the elements when they are wild and raw... but not for too long.

      Delete

Mr Pudding welcomes all genuine comments - even those with which he disagrees. However, puerile or abusive comments from anonymous contributors will continue to be given the short shrift they deserve. Any spam comments that get through Google/Blogger defences will also be quickly deleted.

Most Visits