Turning Laments into Dancing
written by: Tony Ashenden
I am sitting here, thinking how to say
what love is, dreaming of events once lived
expressions of harmony; given not found,
moments that turn laments into dancing.
Buttercups and primrose, verdant green
March meadows, cabbages and kale,
watercress ponds, throat filling sticky
tomato scent. Prickly cucumbers hand-picked
damp at eight o’clock dawn. The smell of
ripened peach, greengage and damson.
Gooseberries; their hairs rasping my throat,
watering eyes. Plum tree sweat in bee-swirling even.
Diamonds on the bed of stream; fish leaping,
water rats swimming. Slow moving mills
in harvest September, crushing corn, tumbling
ratchets on stone, winding sails in the sunset.
The boom of poacher guns, slow clapping
march of thunderous clouds, the still-breaking
bark of dogs, birds in flight. The creak of laced
canvas, the boat -slapping sun painted water.
You will not see yourself in these
truth telling moments but they are
the natural worlds’ soul enriching
evidence turning laments into dancing.
- Turning Laments into Dancing - June 24, 2026
- The Peace Marshalls - April 6, 2026
- Spotlight On Writers – Tony Ashenden - March 14, 2026
