1. The Rise and Fall of Hydref
The hiss and rustle of the leaves
on gently swaying trees
like the sigh of a vast creature
The smell of fresh morning dew
on moistened soil and rolling mist
embracing only few
Soon warm rain will fall in sheets,
spattering and steaming
washing away the now usual, miasma
Her last beams caught in sheets of rain
forming split-second works of art
in torrential sky
Unseen, undisturbed,
Hydref will be snuffed like a candle
to once again be surrounded
by gentle echoes of her own breathing
2. Waiting for spring
When the frosts of winter had ceased
Its snows melted
Its cutting winds ameliorated;
The pain will subside
Our blood in our veins no longer frozen;
Spring will draw on
Greenness will grow over the brown beds
Refreshing it daily
Suggesting the thought that Hope traveled there at night
And left each morning brighter traces of her steps
3. Resurgemus
The forest lain out beneath the iron sky of winter
Is stiffened in frost
Frozen in fog
The mists as chill as death wandering to the impulse of our south-west winds
The river itself is a torrent
Tearing asunder the wood of skeletons and
Sending a raving sound of thunder through the air
Our forest now,
The cradle of fog-bred pestilence
Breathing contagion into its crowded recesses
How I long for blue skies, placid sunshine and soft western gale filled days
Our forest to shake loose its tresses and
Our Oak skeletons to be restored to its once majestic life
The hiss and rustle of the leaves
on gently swaying trees
like the sigh of a vast creature
The smell of fresh morning dew
on moistened soil and rolling mist
embracing only few
Soon warm rain will fall in sheets,
spattering and steaming
washing away the now usual, miasma
Her last beams caught in sheets of rain
forming split-second works of art
in torrential sky
Unseen, undisturbed,
Hydref will be snuffed like a candle
to once again be surrounded
by gentle echoes of her own breathing
2. Waiting for spring
When the frosts of winter had ceased
Its snows melted
Its cutting winds ameliorated;
The pain will subside
Our blood in our veins no longer frozen;
Spring will draw on
Greenness will grow over the brown beds
Refreshing it daily
Suggesting the thought that Hope traveled there at night
And left each morning brighter traces of her steps
3. Resurgemus
The forest lain out beneath the iron sky of winter
Is stiffened in frost
Frozen in fog
The mists as chill as death wandering to the impulse of our south-west winds
The river itself is a torrent
Tearing asunder the wood of skeletons and
Sending a raving sound of thunder through the air
Our forest now,
The cradle of fog-bred pestilence
Breathing contagion into its crowded recesses
How I long for blue skies, placid sunshine and soft western gale filled days
Our forest to shake loose its tresses and
Our Oak skeletons to be restored to its once majestic life
About the poet:
VaL Smit is a South African artist based in Cape Town. She writes ekphrastic poetry per artwork created. She uses various media in portraying images that she feels fitting to deliver the message of the words she pens down. Her work has been published in various online journals including Glomag, The Chachalaka Review and The West Review.