Volk

[Hawkman]

The steppe wears the virgin gown of winter
stretching out beyond the forest’s edge,
where border firs, whose sagging arms
that drip with ice, sport matching stoles.

Here she stands, white coat on white
with lapis eyes that search from need,
the lolling of her salmon tongue
enshrouded in the mist of breath.

So far travelled in pursuit of food,
alone and separated from her clan,
she sings the mournful tune upon the wind
that calls her siblings near.

[hillwalker]

I love the opening stanza - a wonderful description of the tundra/taiga (the 'stoles' of white fur especially apt given the context).

And then the detailed image of an Arctic fox possibly - 'salmon tongue' again fitting in perfectly with the setting.

'lapis eyes' did leave me wondering a little - more for the awkward sound of the two words together rather than the shortened form of 'lapis lazuli'.

But it's not far short of a masterpiece.....

H

[Transmodernism]

The steppe wears the virgin gown of winter
stretching out beyond the forest’s edge,
where border firs, whose sagging arms
that drip with ice, sport matching stoles.

Here she stands, white coat on white
with lapis eyes that search from need,
the lolling of her salmon tongue
enshrouded in the mist of breath.

So far travelled in pursuit of food,
alone and separated from her clan,
she sings the mournful tune upon the wind
that calls her siblings near.

Lovely poem! The steppe wears the virgin gown of winter — this is a marvelously paradoxical and unexpected metaphor, connecting bridal imagery (usually and stereotypically associated with spring) with the winter snows. Very original!

Stanza two is also a lovely and effective natural portrait. Really evokes the image effectively.
:)

[YesNo]

I enjoyed the sound of the meter and the mournfulness of the animal calling for her siblings that made me sympathetic to her sense of being alone and made me wonder if they would be able to hear her.

[Haunted]

This is so camera perfect, the wintry landscape and the beautiful beast under your mighty pen, for a moment I thought I was staring at the winner from an Nikon photo contest.

[PrinceMyshkin]

I couldn't look at the poem open-heartedly, consumed as I was by the mystery of the title as it might apply, and then from unpleasant memories of some of the particular uses to which this word was put by WWII Germany

[Transmodernism]

I couldn't look at the poem open-heartedly, consumed as I was by the mystery of the title as it might apply, and then from unpleasant memories of some of the particular uses to which this word was put by WWII Germany

I also was wondering about the title. Before Wagner it was a relatively innocuous term referring to a group of people. But Wagner used it in the hyper-nationalistic way that would later be made famous by... certain persons.

I looked at the title and looked at the poem and couldn't, for the life of me, figure out the connection.

My one theory is that "Volk" to the creature's siblings... I dunno.

[hillwalker]

'Volk' is actually Slovenian for wolf (as well as German for people).

H

[Hawkman]

hill, thanks for your kind words in appreciation of this poem and you are of course correct that Bолк (volk) is a word for wolf, although I only knew it as the Russian word. I did consider writing it in cyrillic but in the end decided not to.

Tm, thank you too. I chose virgin gown because of its connotations both of whiteness and unsullied to represent the snowscape. Very happy it meets with your approval :D

YesNo: I'm glad it resonated for you, and rest assured the pack found her :)

Haunted: You are too kind, but I'm glad the imagery was so powerful for you.

Prince, sorry for any ambiguity but I never thought a word picture of a wolf in the snow could be interpreted as anything else... Maybe I should have written the title in Russian script. (or even both).

A recent lighthearted exchange with a friend, which included a reference to a wolf, sparked a couple of neurons and brought the word to mind. After that it was just a matter of time before the poem came - lol. I love the sound of the word. It's so expressive. In fact, so engrossed was I with the lupine association, that I completeley overlooked the German word, although with hindsight it is not inappropriate as a reference to the pack which she calls to.

So Tm, I hope the mystery is now solved for you.

Thank you all again.

Live and be well, H

[Delta40]

I had to google volk and steppe as reading it like a volkswagon lost in the countryside didn't resonate in the way I'm sure you wanted it!

This is a beautiful poem and the white cloaking white is mother nature at her best.

[Transmodernism]

Well, the Nazis were like wolves, so I guess it's serendipity.

Actually, I take that back: wolves are much more humane.

Great poem though! A wonderful snapshot of nature. :)

[AuntShecky]

Researchers have found that wolves very seldom attack humans; indeed, the wolf is the ancestor of the domestic dog. Thus the usual depiction of the wolf as predator toward defenseless children in folktales and nursery rhymes has very little basis in fact.

Hawk, if you have the chance, look up the derivation of the word "lupine" -- the colorful flower that originated in central Europe and, in the appropriate season, graces the edges of woodlands in the Northeast U.S. and especially in the spectacular regions of coastal Maine.

Incidentally, you've presented a splendid poem here.

[Hawkman]

Delta, those damn surfers seem to be everywhere! :D

Tm, Well, wolves are certainly more social animals. On the whole though, I think I would have preferred not to have my poem associated with anything other than arctic wolves.

Auntie, hello and thanks for reading. The flowers are spelled without the e over here. Fortunately I don't have to look up the supposed origin of the name as I already know it :D

Thanks for noticing the poem - lol.

Live long and prosper - H

[Delta40]

there are the learned and the learn-ned on lit-net - it is the only time I surf!

[Hawkman]

Don't blame you, too many sharks in your neck of the woods. Is it only in the UK that surfers are obsessed with VWs?

[Transmodernism]

Tm, Well, wolves are certainly more social animals. On the whole though, I think I would have preferred not to have my poem associated with anything other than arctic wolves.


I was just joking, but my comment was stupid. I didn't mean to associate your work with odious things. Sorry.:)

[Hawkman]

Very gratious of you old man but my reply was as laconic as yours, so dinni fash yoursen :D

H

[Jerrybaldy]

Hawk
you write what I think of as poetry
JerryB

[Bar22do]

Having lived for some time in a slavonic country, my first thought was wilk/volk, so I was protected from possible association with the Nazis (certainly not like good wolves), though it could have happened, of course.
your image - virgin gown - suits so beautifully Miss Winter! You surpass yourself and surprises us (me) every day more - you sure must host a Muse at your place, for what you write is magnificent and original, and your style too changes... great to read this one (though I arrive, as I see, after the feast... well, I arrive when I can, and perhaps it's better late than never) - thanks for sharing, for sharing so generously.

Best regards, Bar

[firefangled]

Hawk, can't add much to what has been said, except to agree. I thought S2 was either a fox or a wolf, a stunning image.

[Hawkman]

JB - Thanks.

Sweet Bar,

As always it pleases me to please you, and your comments are welcome whenever they arrive, so I'm glad you liked it. As for hosting a muse - well I'm sorry to say there's no room in my pokey ice box for anyone who is not on seriously intimate terms with me and who doesn't possess a fur coat - lol.

ff, thank you too for reading, enjoying and taking the time to tell me you had. I'm very glad you enjoyed it.

Thanks again for all your comments - H

[blank|verse]

Have I missed anything?? :)

Unfortunate connotations aside, (simply changing the title to 'Wolf' might solve that) it's a nicely evocative portrait of the creature and its habitat; I thought particularly the 'lapis' eyes was a wonderfully invocatory image - I could really see the wolf's face before me.

If I'm being a bit critical (I usually am!) I'd say the poem lacks a bit of drama or tension; it's quite static in just giving the reader the images of the wolf and feels perhaps like an introduction wanting the rest of the poem. Maybe it's one you could expand?

[Hawkman]

Hi b/v. Thanks for reading and commenting. Actually I cut this poem right back, deliberately limiting it to a snapshot of the solitary wolf. I played with the idea of a standoff between the wolf and a caribou but it didn't work. Anyway, I felt I'd already 'sort of' covered that ground with, "The Greiving Trees".

I felt that the exotic title helped place it.

As always, thanks for your thoughts :) H

[hack]

Marvelously expressed Hawk.

[Buh4Bee]

I was quite taken with this scene as I live in the tundra. It does, in fact, look the way you describe it. Nice imagery.

[Hawkman]

Many thanks, hack. Glad you liked it.

Thanks to you too jersea. Your endorsement of the scene's verite means a lot. I'd dearly love to get some shots of woolves in the wild. Maybe one day...

Live and be well, H