—Poetry and Original Artwork by
Freya Pickard, North Devon, UK
IN-BETWEEN PLACE
Grass tussocks flow with bramble
Field vetch spreads her purple blooms
Entwines stubs of might be hawthorn
(Won’t be if Devon Rubies graze).
Soft moss swathes steep incline
Deep velvet, emerald green
This, the in-between place
Field ends, wood begins
Grass tussocks flow with bramble
Field vetch spreads her purple blooms
Entwines stubs of might be hawthorn
(Won’t be if Devon Rubies graze).
Soft moss swathes steep incline
Deep velvet, emerald green
This, the in-between place
Field ends, wood begins
Wode Hills
YOUNGWOOD
Slender saplings sway
Upward reaching arms bend
Before Summer’s strong breath
Leaves flicker, writhe—
Around slim roots the grasses grow
Blackbird and thrush cling
To fragile branches too young to bear
Flighty squirrel’s weight,
Sing in gloaming where
Night meets day
And light succumbs to dark
Wode Autumn Holway
OPENWOOD
Grassy sward ascends to ridge
Cherry, apple, hazel, thorn
Thickened trunks bespeckled
White and yellow lichens cling
Sun casts lengthening shadows north
As his arc reduces
Hunched and huddled young trees lean
Away from prevailing wind
Solitary grasshopper chirps
Rustles in fallen leaves
Autumn now descends
A Winter Tree
TANGLEWOOD
Long past the Solstice
Winter’s grip tightens
Tangles dead undergrowth
Makes traps of briar and thorn
To snag those unwary
Striving to escape proliferation
Of sleeping tree and dying vegetation
Push past the snarls, occlusions and sharp
pain
Discover the cusp of Winter
Becoming Spring
Tor Hill
ANCIENT-WOOD
Here the trunks grow green
With beards of moss
Long, trailing streamers
Agate, jade and emerald
This verdant forest
Even in Spring’s barrenness
Is always alive
Ever dying, ever living
Without death, no life
Living onwards and upwards
Seeking sunlight and rain
Two Trees
HEARTWOOD
The heartwood, a whole wood
Forest as it was meant to be
A healing time, a wholesome breath
True nature revealed
Calmness from outer storms
Sanity restored
Forever changed, forever changing
Embracing both chaos and order
___________________
Today’s LittleNip:
The heart of another is a dark forest, always, no matter how close it has been to one’s own.
—Willa Cather
___________________
Newcomer and Pushcart Prize nominee (2022) Freya Pickard is the author or four poetry collections, plus Vampirical Verse and The Kaerling series. Vampirical Verse is her expression of life after cancer and chemotherapy, using vampires and other dark monsters to speak her dark thoughts. The Kaerling is an epic fantasy set in the strange, uncompromising world of Nirunen.
Freya’s aim in life is to enchant, entertain and engage with readers through her writing. She finds her inspiration in the ocean, the moors, beautifully written books and vinyl music (particularly heavy metal and rock). She enjoys Hatha Yoga, Bhangra and Yogalates and in her spare time creates water colours and pastel drawings of the worlds in her head. See more bout Freya at https://dragonscaleclippings.wordpress.com/about/. Welcome to the Kitchen, Freya, and don’t be a stranger!
___________________
—Medusa
Freya Pickard
For future poetry happenings in
Northern California and otherwheres,
click on
UPCOMING NORCAL EVENTS
(http://medusaskitchen.blogspot.com/p/wtf.html)
in the links at the top of this page—
and keep an eye on this link and on
the daily Kitchen for happenings
that might pop up
—or get changed!—
during the week.
Photos in this column can be enlarged by
clicking on them once, then clicking on the x
in the top right corner to come back to Medusa.
Poets’ bios appear on their first MK visit.
To find previous posts, type the name
of the poet (or poem) into the little
beige box at the top left-hand side
of this column. See also
Medusa’s Rapsheet at the bottom
of the blue column on the right
side of this column to find
any date you want.
Miss a post?
You can find our most recent ones by
scrolling down under this daily one.
Or there's an "Older Posts" button
at the bottom of this column.
(Please excuse typos in older posts!
Blogspot has been through a lot of
incarnations in 20 years!)
Would you like to be a SnakePal?
Guidelines are at the top of this page
at the Placating the Gorgon link;
send poetry and/or photos and artwork
to kathykieth@hotmail.com. We post
work from all over the world—including
that which was previously published—
and collaborations are welcome.
Just remember:
the snakes of Medusa are always hungry—
for poetry, of course!
Northern California and otherwheres,
click on
UPCOMING NORCAL EVENTS
(http://medusaskitchen.blogspot.com/p/wtf.html)
in the links at the top of this page—
and keep an eye on this link and on
the daily Kitchen for happenings
that might pop up
—or get changed!—
during the week.
Photos in this column can be enlarged by
clicking on them once, then clicking on the x
in the top right corner to come back to Medusa.
Poets’ bios appear on their first MK visit.
To find previous posts, type the name
of the poet (or poem) into the little
beige box at the top left-hand side
of this column. See also
Medusa’s Rapsheet at the bottom
of the blue column on the right
side of this column to find
any date you want.
Miss a post?
You can find our most recent ones by
scrolling down under this daily one.
Or there's an "Older Posts" button
at the bottom of this column.
(Please excuse typos in older posts!
Blogspot has been through a lot of
incarnations in 20 years!)
Would you like to be a SnakePal?
Guidelines are at the top of this page
at the Placating the Gorgon link;
send poetry and/or photos and artwork
to kathykieth@hotmail.com. We post
work from all over the world—including
that which was previously published—
and collaborations are welcome.
Just remember:
the snakes of Medusa are always hungry—
for poetry, of course!
