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Gatehouse At Bluster Hill...,

I found to be an enjoyable read...,
where this bookworm vicariously
basked in trials and tribulations
(joys and sorrows)
among and between fictional
lives and glory
of two stalwart individuals.

The the two main characters
June Elizabeth Merriweather
and Conrad
(teased being called Connie
as a boy) Grayson Everleigh,
a protagonist and antagonist
(in the mind of
yours truly - me respectively),
whereat the former
narrates most of the story
titled Gatehouse At Bluster Hill
set within rural America in general
circa early/mid eighteen hundred,
where generations - long family farms
dotted the landscape
within Southeastern
Montgomery County
Pennsylvania in particular
(cuz I recognized references
made to enclaves
within my neck of the woods
here within the keystone state)
plus suburban
tri-county geographical
area place names
(now urban areas),
where late twenty something
plus female heroine
experiences latent
romantic intimations
towards the leading
aforementioned male,
(an underdog hero of sorts);
anyway June Merriweather...
predominantly narrates
the very believable fiction
titled Gatehouse At Bluster Hill
by the late Lois Kulp
a storybook account.

Familiarization
toward further acquaintanceship
and attendant courtship,
(which inevitably
pointed to couples -
heterosexuals pairing off)
proceeded at an easy going pace
insync with the gait
of modus operandi transportation
videlicet horse and buggy,
where discovery
of potential compatibility
refreshing in comparison
to the breakneck lightspeed
pace of life
in the second decade
of the twenty first century.

Perhaps in a previous incarnation -
yours truly flowered
courtesy instant karma,
whereby one needed
to add water and
bitta bing bitta bang parma
appeared before a Dharma bum
and comprising the beat generation,
a movement of young people
in the 1950s
who rejected conventional society
and favored Zen Buddhism,
modern jazz, free sexuality,
and recreational drugs:
Among writers associated
with the movement
were Jack Kerouac
and Allen Ginsberg.
Prior to being linkedin
to fancy free and footloose paradigm
as I did summarily
(with assistance from Google) adumbrate
the wordsmith typing these words
experienced being integrated
with a modus operandi,
whereby days of our lives
as the world turned
on all my children
linkedin to an agrarian society
necessitating physical labor,
and thus forced tea for the tiller-man
to be taken at the mercy
of independence about the weather
reading the signs associated
with bee ying in tune
with the environment
by fostering an ecocentric relationship
housing all creatures
great and small
and all things
wise and wonderful
allowing, enabling, and providing
learned characteristics
about the weather,
where to everything
there is a season
which wrought synchronization
where folks learned to calibrate
when best to complete requisite chores
and give reason with
or without a rhyme to celebrate
learning a sixth sense of sorts
while equipped with innate notions
about the local climate
an estates and landed vested gentry
holders to calibrate his/her
to learn equilibrate
their synchronization
best when to tackle
a labor of love,
not necessarily lost
hence aforementioned author
(who passed away on Tuesday,
July 12, 2016,
at the Harrison
Senior Living Center in Christiana, PA)
offered perspective
of harmony with the planet in general
and inhabiting rural America in particular
also quite refreshing and envious
to envision a non-harried
swiftly tailored lifestyle
versus one rooted
in a self sufficient gauge,
taught taut synchronicity
whereby physically active
tenants of the land
accrued plentiful yields
courtesy the sweat of their brow
but nevertheless as a history buff,
learning concerning major
local, global, and politico-
social issues issues during that era
I found myself engrossed in an idyllic plot
found me hungering and thirsting
for the travails of realistic people,
perhaps predicated
on the genealogy of Lois Kulp.

About This Poem

Last Few Words: as usual per discovering an obscure (though deceased, cuz I wanted to email her), another lucky find at Worthwhile Thrift store, which proceeds help trafficked women from all over the world wide web.

Style/Type: Free verse

Review Request Direction: What did you think of my title?
How was my language use?
What did you think of the rhythm or pattern or pacing?
How does this theme appeal to you?
How was the beginning/ending of the poem?
Is the internal logic consistent?

Review Request Intensity: I want the raw truth, feel free to knock me on my back

Editing Stage: Editing - polished draft

About the Author

Region, Country: PA, USA

Favorite Poets: Robert Burns, Charles Dickens, Robert Frost, Matthew Scott Harris, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Sylvia Plath, Gary Snyder, Henry David Thoreau, Walt Whitman

More from this author

Comments

neopoet

neopoet

3 months ago

Neopoet AI [2025-04]

The below is a computer-generated response from Neo, Neopoet’s AI:

This poem reads as a dense, prose-like meditation on a book and its historical and cultural context, rather than a traditional poem with clear line breaks and rhythmic patterns. The narrative voice is conversational and reflective, weaving personal insights with literary critique and historical commentary.

Strengths: - The poem captures a strong sense of place and time, grounding the narrative in rural 19th-century Pennsylvania and connecting it to the present day. - The inclusion of historical and cultural references, such as the Beat Generation and agrarian lifestyles, adds depth and complexity. - The personal engagement with the text and its themes conveys genuine intellectual curiosity.

Areas for improvement: 1. Structure and Form: The poem’s form is very free, bordering on prose. Introducing clearer stanza breaks or lineation could enhance readability and emphasize key ideas or emotions. Consider using enjambment and varied line lengths to create rhythm and pacing.

2. Clarity and Focus: The poem sometimes becomes difficult to follow due to long, winding sentences and dense information. Streamlining some passages and focusing on a few central images or themes would strengthen the impact. For example, the transition from the book’s narrative to the Beat Generation feels abrupt and could be more smoothly integrated.

3. Imagery and Sensory Detail: While the poem references historical and cultural elements, it could benefit from more vivid, concrete imagery that evokes the sensory experience of rural life or the emotional landscape of the characters. This would help readers connect more viscerally with the themes.

4. Tone and Voice: The voice is knowledgeable but occasionally shifts into a more academic or review-like tone. Balancing this with more poetic language and emotional resonance would enrich the reader’s experience.

5. Repetition and Word Choice: Some phrases and ideas are repeated or stated in a convoluted manner (e.g., “issues issues,” “learn equilibrate their synchronization”). Careful editing to remove redundancies and clarify phrasing would improve flow.

Overall, the poem offers a thoughtful and layered reflection on literature, history, and personal connection. With attention to form, clarity, and imagery, it could develop stronger poetic qualities and emotional engagement.

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