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The Wind at Twilight

Wind sculptured escarpments,
painted them russet over yawning villages.
Undulating willow-branches
brushed borders of rivers
flowing into Austral sunsets.
Everything prepared for sleep
except the ruthless wind.

Silhouettes of whistling poplars
marked the divide
between day and spectral night.
The wind governed all of life.
Autumn shed myriad leaves
from deciduous branches
outlined against sprinting clouds.

Twilight filtered through
like a shaft of gold
determined to dispense
with phantoms of approaching night.
I believe it was the wind
that softened chasms
of unnamed absences.

About This Poem

Last Few Words: This poem is about the ruthless winds that battered our farm bordering a river. The wind toppled poplars and took half the new crops of apples. My job was to help pick up the apples and my Dad sent them to the cider manufacturors. I mention the apples in another poem, this is a spiritual reflection. As a child, the strong winds scared me.

Review Request Direction: What did you think of the rhythm or pattern or pacing?
How does this theme appeal to you?

Review Request Intensity: I appreciate moderate constructive criticism

Editing Stage: Editing - rough draft

About the Author

Region, Country: Río Negro, Argentine Patagonia, ARG

Favorite Poets: Sylvia Plath, T.S. Elliot. Shakespeare, Gongora, Beckett, etc. Many others, such as Cervantes. I have to thank my mother because she read poetry to me from the cradle, so first I learned by memory and soon understood the words. Grammar comes naturally at about 5 years old, without any formal teaching.

More from this author

Comments

Lavender

Lavender

5 years ago

The Wind at Twilight

Hi, Gracy,
Your poems bring spiritual viewpoints to physical things - much like here. You've described the harshness of the winds and what damage they can do, but it's in the language and tone of your poetry that I get a better understanding and greater respect for Mother Nature.
Thank you!
L

Gracy

Gracy

5 years ago

Hello Lavender, yes, I was in

Hello Lavender, yes, I was in a spiritual mood when I wrote this. I'm glad you understood my feelings towards Nature, be it flora or fauna. Thanks for that, best, Gracy

Gracy

Gracy

5 years ago

Dear Jerry, thanks for your

Dear Jerry, thanks for your comments. We don't get sandstorms in the apple valley, but there are out on the steppes, especially now that there's been so much devastation due to hydroelectric dams, paved highways and much more. Sandstorms are natural, but humankind has made them worse, or else made them disappear, as in your case around Phoenix.
I'm glad this poem brought back memories. Hope you're well. Regards to all your family, Gracy

Geezer

Geezer

5 years ago

I just watched...

a program about the Dustbowl here in the 'States' back in the thirties and I've seen pictures of the sandstorms in Australia. it is a rare thing here, but I could see the fearsome power of them and imagine that they must be a very frightening thing. Especially for a child. You have described the storms and the damage to the apple orchards, much as the ones here had wiped out the crops of the Mid-West here. It must have been a horrifying experience. ~ Geezer.
.

Gracy

Gracy

5 years ago

Dear Geez, yes, sandstorms

Dear Geez, yes, sandstorms are scary. As I said in another comment, the winds in our valley were powerful and felled poplars, but they were not sandstorms. However, as a child, I was afraid of them. They kept me up at night, knowing that my Dad would be upset about the crops. And he was, we were sent off to fill baskets of the bruised apples which were then sent off to make cider. Very good cider!

We also have dustbowls in central Patagonia, where the steppes are. Partly due to damage done by corporations. We're all being punished for our collective behavior, that's what I believe.
All the best and thanks for sharing your memories and your kind comments. Best, Gracy

C

c lynn brooks

5 years ago

Gracy

your poem flawed me. it is picture perfect
I saw it all
wow just beautiful
what more can I say

you title is spot on that is what drew me in so you can say it did it's job

Gracy

Gracy

5 years ago

Thank you, Lynn, I'm glad you

Thank you, Lynn, I'm glad you like the title and the picture I attempted to show. You're encouraging me to continue writing, thanks for that, Gracy

Gracy

Gracy

5 years ago

Dear Teddy, I'm glad you like

Dear Teddy, I'm glad you like my poem. You're lucky to live in an area where there are no powerful winds or sandstorms. What more can I say, except thank you for always encouraging and commenting on my poems. Tis a bit difficult, because nowadays I hardly speak English to anybody. When I have supper with my daughter, we speak Spanish because her husband is Argentine. Diana and I speak English when we go on our daily walks in our small area. With the lockdown, we had to give up our weekly Burako sessions. Have you ever played Burako?
All the best and thank you again,Gracy

Gracy

Gracy

5 years ago

Dear Teddy, Burako is a game

Dear Teddy, Burako is a game of numbers, written on large plastic cubes, like bigger than dominoes. It's best played with a minimum of 4 people, but 2 or 3 is OK. One has to make sequences of 7 numbers of the same colour, can use two jokers to complete;
or 7 cubes with say, all red 4's, or a "dirty" one with different coloured 4's. The grand challenge is to make a sequence of only jokers, 7 of them. Each challenge has different values and after each game the totals are summed up and so on till everybody gets tired and one has coffee or tea with cakes; gossip is hilarious.
Any language is easy to learn if your parents speak it to you when you're still in the cradle. Children learn with great facility, they learn grammar without knowing any of the rules. They recite poems by heart without understanding them, yet. Aristotle said in his Poetica and Rethorics that it's good to exercise the memory. I agree with him. It's the first part of learning to understand and associate with illustrations in the books and so on.
I also learned Spanish, but at the rural school and then at the bilingual boarding school in Buenos Aires.
Thanks for taking an interest, I love interchanging ideas on topics that crop up here. Take care, all the best, Gracy

chima ononogbu

chima ononogbu

5 years ago

Hi Gracy

Your craft is, as always, a masterpiece. You shower nature with the grace of imageries that are so perfectly plugged in to give it a relatable touch and feeling. I must admit also that the piece penetrates the depth of my mind and does drive out magnificent imaginations. Nice job. Thanks for sharing.

Gracy

Gracy

5 years ago

Dear Chima, thanks for

Dear Chima, thanks for visiting and commenting my poem. I'm glad you relate to it in a good way.
I attempt to make readers' imagination fly, sometimes it works, so I'm happy that it happens to you. All the best, Gracy
+

Edna Sweetlove

Edna Sweetlove

5 years ago

Dreamy!

Very dreamy!

Gracy

Gracy

5 years ago

Hi Edna, so you find it

Hi Edna, so you find it dreamy? I'm so glad. That word says all that I felt when writing this poem. All the best, Gracy

R

raj

5 years ago

Hi Gracy

Reading your creation for the first time and it has the essence of a seasoned poet as confirmed in your profile...

i was drawn to this poem by its title and especially liked the concluding lines..

Twilight filtered through
like a shaft of gold
determined to dispense
with phantoms of approaching night.
I believe it was the wind
that softened chasms
of unnamed absences.

Looking forward to read more...

I am returning here after a long spell of absence...

be well...

Gracy

Gracy

5 years ago

Hello raj, so glad you've

Hello raj, so glad you've returned after a long absence. Thank you for your kind comments, I wrote it when I was desolate because some loved ones had died. Long ago, it's therapy for me to write poems or short stories.
I'm hoping to read some of your poems, will search now for them. Keep safe, Gracy

R

raj

5 years ago

Hi again Gracy

Your poems are indeed evocative...pleasure reading them..

be well..

Gracy

Gracy

5 years ago

Hi raj, thanks for returning

Hi raj, thanks for returning to read my poem. Your comments are so kind. You too, write lovely poems. All the best, Gracy

R

raj

5 years ago

I posted one to Idle time

I posted one to Idle time workshop...do read and critique when you find time Gracy...

be well..

Gracy

Gracy

5 years ago

Dear Lovedly, your request is

Dear Lovedly, your request is a compliment. I've never been a mentor to anyone, as far as I know. I was a moderator at a website that's now almost defunct, one can only play word challenges nowadays. You should join, it's fun. Mosaic Musings.net. Look for Acropolis once there.
I never got to know Judy, I'm sorry you lost your mentor. Mainly, I advise poets to write their poems as tightly as possible, so they don't sound like prose. FV can have inner rhymes for musicality. I do some rhyming poems, but I'm no expert.
Still, ask me whatever you wish, if I can be of help, I'll gladly give it.
Take care, Gracy