A Working Villanelle: And Hold Onto Ye' Precious Bairn Carol Naylor

Walk down the lane my pretty wee lass,
Lift up ye' petticoat as ye' plough through the quagmire,
And hold on to ye' precious bairn as ye' go pass'.
 
Hold up ye' staff as ye' traipse thru' the grass,
Onwards ye' weary wonderers as ye' near the byre.
Walk down the lane my pretty wee lass.
 
Follow the track that rolls thru' the valley, the mass
Of fertile soil, the undulating hills. Try not to tire.
And hold on to ye' precious bairn as ye' go pass'.
 
Ye' wee bairn is deep in slumber as ye' hasten so fas'.
The village is burning, the stacks are on fire.
Walk down the lane my pretty wee lass.
 
Wind ye' way doon to the river like an ocean so vast.
The village is smouldering, the inferno is dire
And hold on to ye' precious bairn as ye' go pass'.
 
Why do ye' falter my bonny wee lass?
Turn back, hie thee away from the funeral pyre.
Haste ye' doon the lane my bonny wee lass
But hold onto ye' precious bairn as ye' go pass'.
 
 
 
COPYRIGHT 2013. PERMISSION MUST BE OBTAINED FROM THE AUTHOR BEFORE USING THIS POEM.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Stranger From Lagos by Cyprian Ekwensi

Image
  image courtesy of Google images   Ekwensi was born in Nigeria in 1921. He wrote about the country and people of Nigeria-city life and life in the rural areas. Loko Towns and Other Stories was published in 1966. A Stranger From Lagos was one of the nine stories in that collection.   The writer explores the place of women in society. Lilian is trapped by social conventions. Her fiance treats her like a possession as if he owns her. It is written in third person to allow the writer's thoughts to merge with Lilian's. The protagonist is unable to speak to the stranger in public although it is obvious that there is a strong physical attraction between the two. If Lilian asserts herself she will go against social conventions (for females) and her reputation will be damaged through rife and unhealthy gossip. She will therefore be stigmatised as a loose woman. The story explores her inner conflicts in accepting these "conventions" or flaunting them as well a
Read more

A Stranger From Lagos by Cyprian Ekwensi Final Part

Image
                                                                    courtesy of Google images Lilian uses her sexuality to liberate as well as attract the opposite sex. Ekwensi uses "wiggled." Lilian had just had her hair done and was wearing very large, loop earrings. This had been done for her lover's benefit. She was conscious of all the eyes watching the two of them. The writer uses the simile: she felt like something projected on a 3D screen for all Onitsha to view. We are told very little about the stranger other than that he was tall and good-looking. We are told he didn't feel embarrassed by all of the attention. He would ruin her reputation and he was well aware of this: he would scandalize her and then she would be left to the gossips. You get the sense that this has probably happened before. The dialogue here is disjointed. Mystery surrounds him but his desire to see Lilian is compelling: "I have wanted to see you" and he refers to his
Read more

A Bit of Singing and Dancing by Susan Hill

Image
Here you'll find 11 varied but intense stories about emotional struggles of ordinary people trying to get to grips with life. For some unfortunates, the adjustment is too great and tragedy is inevitable, something very characteristic of Hill's writing as many of you will already know. A Bit of Singing and Dancing is less dramatic and not quite so tragic. I can stay out here just as long as I like, I can do anything I choose, anything at all, for now I am answerable only to myself. Esme is still coming to terms with her mother's death and her new-found freedom. She is over 50 years of age and has reluctantly been forced into caring for her forthright and domineering bedridden mother for 11 years prior to her death. She had been half-alive satisfying her mother's needs and repressing her own needs and desires. Her mother's death had given her a new lease of life, an unexpected freedom which also attracted fear and bewilderment to someone who had been so sheltered
Read more