Madness and Meadowlarks* **
On plants. I smelled wet, moist greeness,
Like a living essence of the crushed growth,
But I inhaled danger.
Danger chilled my skin, danger
Clogged my throat, a feeling of danger
Panted and trembled in my every breath
While my heart thundered in the stillness.
Surely he must hear me.
For I had wandered into Crazy Charley's
Territory. First there were dense woods,
Then a wide, open meadow. Finally
There was the prey. Me.
Charley would be waiting in his old car,
With its dented fenders and cracked
Windshield: A motionless, hidden,
Crouched, quiet predator.
I couldn't get around him. He could chase
Me on either side of the U shaped
Meadow, that had no place to hide.
Was he there?
There was no hint of his presence.
I decided to sprint across the flat land.
In a few steps, I saw him in his car, his mouth was
A twisted grimace, and his painful, hysterical, laughter
Echoed in the air,.
He tried to run me down.
My only defense was to
Dodge, twist, leap, and
make sharp turns or to zigzag
To escape his car.
Finally, I threw myself down and rolled into the
Shadowy twilight of the forest. Safe. Still terrified,
I scrambled up and hurled bodily into the
Hushed woodland sanctuary.
The stillness gave way to
Birdsong and the twitter of squirrels
Scolding, but to me, it sounded like
Church bells on Christmas Day, a
Paean of peace and love.
*(This poem is not autobiographical)
**After reading Sharon Bryan's excellent article, Free-verse Lineation, (The Practice of Poetry,
Edited by Robin Behn & Chase Twichell, pages 181-183, Harper Perennial, 1992)
I tried to pay special attention to my line endings and length to achieve the impact I wanted from each stanza.
Published by Mary Naylor confirmed
I was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1933. I grew up in Rhinelander, Wisconsin, a wild and beautiful state, rich in literature and lore. I loved the stories of Paul Bunyon and his ox, Babe. The hoax of t... View profile
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3 Comments
Post a CommentI ran with you, heart pounding as I had when ice skating on old man Adams' pound and he chased us off cursing and shaking his fist to the heavens! You captured that memory so well in your poem, thank you...:0)
Well done, Mary; you most definitely hit the mark here!
I would say that you achieved that impact well! This is a posting that I will refer to again in order to learn more about free verse! Well done, and thanks.