Reeds of the Bogland

[Antcliff]

Drain and dig,
turn and dry these sods of bog.

They'll crumble slowly in the sun
dumped amongst the cuckoo flowers.

Pull out
an old half rotten stob,

toppled in the time of some Maclean,
hard crofter and his emigrating sons.

Or lift
and hang them on that granite wall

whose purpose, highland chieftain,
seems long gone.

They'll fry, exposed,
those matted strands of root, like clippings

fallen from the beard of him,
our soggy god.

[Macavity]

They'll fry, exposed,
those matted strands of root, like clippings

fallen from the beard of him,
our soggy god.

I liked the imagery of that Seth, but wasn't sure if 'fry' was right. For me it suggested an intense heat.

mac

[champion]

Hello Seth.
Not a very technical appraisal I am afraid, I just wanted to say I enjoyed many elements of Reeds of the Bogland.

I found the title drawing me in, merely by the use of the interesting word Bogland.
I was then very pleasantly suprised as your poem unfolded to come across another similarly well chosen word, which I had to look up, .. 'stob'. Very nice Seth.
Also, looking up the 'cuckoo flower' I was to discover that there is a folklore attached to these pretty meadow flowers that they are a sacred flower to fairies, which created a place that could almost have an eerire, mystical feel to it.

The layout was easy and pleasant to read, and I particularly liked the 'book-end' feel you have going on with the opening and closing couplets.
I found the imagery in the stanza's about the crofter and his sons, and also that of the highland chieftan enjoyable, and for me, gave your piece a sense and texture of history.(if that makes sense).

The close was my favourite part Seth, very nice indeed,

They'll fry, exposed,
those matted strands of root, like clippings

fallen from the beard of him,
our soggy god.

An enjoyable read throughout.
Cheers
Robbie.

[Antcliff]

Thanks, Mac.

I think you are right about "fry".

Thanks, Robbie. Not only for calling by, but such detail. Always welcome (and certainly you should not think you need to be technical!). Especially helpful to know about the bookends and that bit you mention at end. Yes, "Stob" is very much a word in use around here. I have put a few in already this year. The Macleans were a powerful local clan for a period. The cuckoo flowers indeed have that fairy link that I was only reading about the other day. Intriguing.Thanks again.

Seth

[oranggunung]

Hi Seth

I like the historical links with a material that takes so long to form.

Fry looks like it should relate to friable. Easy to misread, though.

The last line(s) feel(s) out of context to me, being the first mention of a deity. I can’t fault the imagery; it conjures a lovely picture. I can see lines of turf draped over stone walls, looking like beards. But that would be beards, not one big beard. Sorry, I can’t quite tie the pictures to the words.

enjoyed, even so

og

[Antcliff]

Thanks for calling by, Og. The deity at the end was intended to be the bog, but I think it is not quite working at that point. The reeds would be "falling" up perhaps. Your helpful comments help me to see that the end needs work.

Cheers,
Seth

[Mic]

Lovely sonics, pacing, rhythm.
Really good.

[Antcliff]

Thanks very much, Mic

[David2]

Stob is a great word.

Very good! Wonderful local details. And local deities. The end made me think of it (the poem) as a sort of squelchy Wicker Man.

Cheers

David

[Antcliff]

Thanks, David...squelchy wicker man it is!