National Poetry Month 2018
Poetry Friday round-up is with Amy at The Poem Farm.
Welcome to my National Poetry Month Day 5. I’m writing ekphrastic poetry about my father’s art.
Country Barn by John Gibson
Here
we take our time,
climb through barnwood
and tell secrets.
Here
we find ourselves
wrapped in fieldgrass
and speak whispers.
Here
we lower our masks
stay safely sunfree
and hum memories.
–Margaret Simon, (c) 2018
Quote from PoemCrazy by Susan Goldsmith Wooldridge: “I feel safe because poems take me to a place out of normal time and thought, dipping me below the surface to where we all meet. The poem speaks in confidence, the reader feels included, honored, and keeps the secret.”
The form beginning with the word “here” borrowed from Janet Wong’s poem Walking to Temple found in Lee Bennett Hopkins collection World Make Way.
Reflections on the Teche 
Lovely and such nice tributes to your Dad. This is from one Gibson Girl to another, I grew up Constance Gibson. Connie
Maybe we’re related. We’ve done some family research but know little about the Gibson side. Thanks for commenting.
Your poem is lovely, and so is your father’s art. Thank you for sharing both.
This poem and your father’s artwork are a lovely pair. I especially liked the last stanza. The quote from PoemCrazy is a great centering thought for you poem because your poem did take me to a place out of normal time and thought. Have a great weekend.
Love the line, we lower our masks
I just got the book, Poem Crazy. I am was excited to see it referenced!
Poemcrazy is a wonderful book. You will find it rich for writing.
I love the scene, and the one you’ve set with that intimate time in the barn, “hum memories”.
This is a lovely poem, Margaret. So soft and meditative and also a bit mysterious at the end, a bit like the artwork. I am enamored of your father’s art. You must have pieces hung all over your house, yes? What beautiful gifts of talent you and you family have.
Thanks Katherine. We do have some of his work. So do my girls. He has done a Christmas card every year for 11 years. My poetry book Illuminate is with his cards.
Love the “power of three” that’s in your poem: tell secrets, speak whispers, hum memories. I love the pairing of the verb and direct object in each one. It is a wonderful mentor text to share how the rule of three works in different forms. And it so happens that barns are one of my favorite buildings.
Love the picture and the poem! 🙂
Love your poem and your dad’s art — the barn as sanctuary, a place to hum memories. Wonderful.
I love the simple lines and stark tree of your dad’s artwork. The repetition in your poem seems to match the mood and place the reader “here” right in the scene. Nice!
I love your dad’s art, and the poem is dear: secrets, whispers, memories. So evocative.
Your dad’s barn is gorgeous, and your poem matches it so well! A special place with a bit of mystery. Love this quote: “dipping me below the surface to where we all meet.”
I can only imagine what mischief we could’ve gotten into in this mysterious barn as children. Your father’s artwork is a gift to the world. Thank you for sharing it, and your accompanying words, with all of us, Margaret. xx
I have many happy memories of my cousins’ barn (and corral and pasture). Life was different just 3 miles outside of town…This poem takes me back…
You brought back some very sweet memories….sharply for me. I love the repetition of “Here” it feels safe to be here. What a lucky girl you are to have the Dad you have and a relationship with him that includes art.
I spent many happy hours in horse barns as a teen. Your poem and your dad’s artwork take me back to the peace I always felt there. Such a deep quiet security. Thank you!
“…stay safely sunfree…” love the alliteration in this line and the safe place provided by the barn. And can I say how much I love reading the comments and learning from our PF community.
The three stanzas with the repetition of “here” works very nicely in this poem. There is a quiet, peaceful tone that is well-matched to the artwork.
Margaret, your gorgeous poem makes me long to be a little girl climbing into a hayloft for an afternoon. The repetition is powerful, and I love “wrapped in fieldgrass.”
I love how you wove together your father’s art, your poetry with a nod to Janet Wong’s form, and a quote from Susan Goldsmith Wooldridge. Such riches! I also love the idea of humming memories.Your poem tunes us into the frequency of a peaceful, cherished memory. Thanks!
Lovely poem with a lovely picture. Those old barns do seem to hum with memories.
This is lovely. Ruth, thereisnosuchthingasagodforsakentown.blogspot.com
I love the spare beauty of poem and art, Margaret. Just enough said to find the heart and hum that melody of memories. You must have had a wonderful childhood.
Oh, Margaret. This is why we live in the country and have an old barn. You capture the gentle mystery beautifully. Your dad would so love this all.
#wrappedinfieldgrass
xx
Oh this is a stunning poem to go with a stunning illustration. I love the Here to start and may need to borrow.