ABPA - Australian Bush Poets Association

What an interesting set of prompts you've given us this week, Maureen! The other poets have taken such innovative approaches to the theme. As usual, I'm swooping in from left field with a different aspect ...

IN HER DREAMS
(c) Shelley Hansen 2015

My husband is a painter – and I help from time to time
to paper walls in houses old and new.
When recently a job came up in one grand river home
he said I’d better join the project too.

A tall stone statue welcomed me, surrounded by a bed
of snow white lillies – faces to the sky.
My shadow fell upon the stairs as one by one I climbed
to reach a tableau of a time gone by.

How many hearts have wintered here? How many springs have fled?
I touched the walls. Would they reveal a name,
or were they sworn to silence, like an unknown photograph
of old, inside a silver locket’s frame?

The red glass bowl that rests upon the polished mantelpiece –
does it still hold the fragrance of a bloom?
The small settee with gold brocade now faded – was it graced
by lovers in this breezy sitting room?

This stately home has seen the generations come and go
from high above the river. Now it seems
although we strip and paint and paper – we are no more real
than transitory figures in her dreams.

Nicely done, Shelley, incorporating all the prompts. As the old saying goes, "if these walls could talk". (Might be a good prompt for a future homework exercise, Maureen?)

Cheers
David

Hi Shelley (I keep forgetting to put the second E in your name)

Nicely thought out as usual Shelley and paints a clear picture of what the poem describes.

Terry

I really enjoyed reading your poem Shelley. Loved especially we are no more real than transitory figures in her dreams. I agree with David's comment about future homework prompts and would add the writing is on the wall.
Wazza

Oh that is lovely Shelley - great use of the prompts and a different spin for sure. It really appealed to me because I love the elegance and charm of old homes, the hidden stories in their past, all of which you captured perfectly. A beautifully crafted piece.

Thank you so much everyone! I really appreciate the positive feedback.

This is a true story in all but minor details. In the house I am describing, the brocaded settee was red, not gold - the bowl on the mantelpiece was crystal, not red - and the garden was planted with coloured leaf plants, not lillies. Other than that - it is precisely as I describe! As soon as I read the prompts I knew exactly what to write about!

I like the suggestions by David and Wazza for future homework prompts

Oh, and by the way, Terry - I should let you know that forgetting my second "E" carries the death penalty, so it's just as well you remembered it

Cheers, Shelley

Nicely conveyed Shelley.
Trish

Wonderful poem Shelley - so evocative. You really have painted the picture of the charm of old homes with all those lives and memories contained within, and I particularly like the last stanza.

Thank you so much Trish and Catherine.

Catherine - that last stanza is exactly how I felt - as if at any moment the house would stir and ask, "Who disturbs my slumber?" ... like the Cave of Wonders in Aladdin

Cheers, Shelley