The View From a Window

A view of the ragged woodland from
The window:-
Slender branched trees that shed
From high above to low below;
The faint, mauven peaks
Smattered with barely visible
Scatterings of drifted snow;
Across the matted undergrowth
A bronzed carpet of copper coloured
Leaves
Whose rusting hue, 
Momentarily ignited by stray 
Sunbeams weakly smouldering,
Briefly refurbished -
Deceives with all the colours of a
Rainbow...
From vibrant red through to shy
Hints of indigo;
Those vague outlines indicating 
Receding hills;
Here, arising, long ago, every waking 
Dawning,
The creaking structures
Of groaning and imposing mills;
Soon a slow thawing that quickly 
Spills 
Into the trickling replenishments 
Of many gushing and silvery little 
Rills.


Enchantment gripped me!
And I found myself wistfully 
Thinking...
Maybe, perhaps, maybe, somewhere,
Just behind where the great 
Flattening Orb
Is now rapidly shrinking,
That I might, by perchance, find, 
If I did so hope to bravely dare,
To happen upon a hidden and 
Sedentary way of life up there?
That, forgotten, has turned its 
Back on the social conflicts 
Plagued by the curses of ingrained
Vice;
Encumbering a soul with its petty 
Squabblings,
Imposing upon with demands and
Avarice...
When placing unnecessary burdens 
On a honest bodies daily call
Of grinding toil and wearisome 
Strife!


And still stood, 
With hands outstretched upon the
Painted sill,
At the waist half-bent,
Now troubled by quiet mutterings
In an inexplicable sorts
Of self-imposed discontent,
My staid consciousness almost 
Unawares, 
As, momentarily distracted,
I hesitated, and, unseeing, 
Inattentively stared...
Until...
A ragged chapter of cawing Daws,
Loudly jabbering overhead,
Suddenly wheeled -
And upwardly soared!
Whereupon, in murderous haste,
Awkwardly fled
When laboriously stealing away
Back inside the stubbled fields...
Thus causing me to slowly straighten;
Whilst, with a singular heartfelt pang,
Liken a moorland mist slowly rolling
Over 
That indivisibly conceals...
Drew shut the sullen curtains, which, 
Heavily embroidered with indeterminate 
finality,
Dejectedly hang...
Each draped aside of the cold 
Reveals.
Copyright © | Year Posted 2017

Poem

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Chiri Avatar
October 3, 2019 at 3:47 PM
John I really do love this poem! And always come back to it! How nice it would be to see that view!;( a girl can dream maybe one day some one will venture on travels to a nice Iowa cabin!;)
Fleming Avatar
October 22, 2019 at 10:48 AM
Hmmmm, indeed, a nice Iowa cabin? Yes...that does sound all rather lovely, Poetess. Lots of warmest thoughts for you this coming night. :) john
Jordan Avatar
August 11, 2018 at 5:43 AM
John, this went through me. I thought it was taking me in one direction and then you take the reader deeper into an even sadder, heavier place. I love this. It's excellent!
Rodd Avatar
July 13, 2018 at 11:34 PM
For me, this wonderful piece is brimming with so many directions and personal interpretations. I felt the sort of heavy, brooding weight I feel under the dead of winter, in the first part if this piece. Then I sensed the character (Perhaps you) wondered about the serenity and undiscovered places out there?? At the end perhaps being pulled back away from those thoughts when the birds came; drawing the curtains on the thoughts themselves.? It was a great, THOUGHT provoking poem !
Sietesantos Avatar
February 23, 2018 at 10:50 AM
With your amazing talent, you have the awesome gift of pulling the reader into the scene you have painted.You captivated from the very beginning of this piece and held me captive to the very end with your incredible imagery and with every stroke of your magical pen! What an incredible piece - a fave for sure! Love and hugs. Pandita
Fleming Avatar
June 17, 2018 at 2:05 PM
Hello, Pandita. Allow me to apologize for the lateness of the reply...I have been rather remiss with my Soup obligations of late; only just now catching up. Thank you for your lovely remarks...as always you are most generous. Your grateful friend. :) john
Eldridge Avatar
December 20, 2017 at 5:05 AM
Thanks for this reflective write.
Fleming Avatar
December 31, 2017 at 3:24 PM
Hello, Jack. Apologies for the late reply; being a "Postie" at this time of year offers very little respite - totally exhausted! All my very best...and - pleased to meet you!! :) john
Posa Avatar
November 10, 2017 at 4:23 PM
Lovely...thank you for your comment.
Fleming Avatar
December 31, 2017 at 3:26 PM
Hello, Mari. Sorry for not answering earlier...in all honesty I did not notice your comment until quite recently - my sincere apologies! My very best regards - and thank you!! :) john
Ashley Avatar
October 9, 2017 at 8:52 AM
A breathtakingly beautiful view from a window John, so exquisitely depicted. Masterfully and beautifully expressed with imagery, rhythm and rhyme. Smooth as silk and a joy to read this morning!
Fleming Avatar
October 18, 2017 at 9:32 AM
Thank you, Susan...and thank you for taking the time to visit -- it is very much appreciated! Please be assured that you will always be most warmly welcomed here by me at anytime. My very best regards! :) john
Shuff Avatar
September 15, 2017 at 10:01 AM
Wow, thank you for your comment on "Winds Return" your writing style is enviable. I'll be able to write like that, in about 143 years, or so.
Fleming Avatar
September 15, 2017 at 2:15 PM
Hi, Terry. Nice to see you again -- rest assured you are always most welcome here! Thanks for your kind and generous comments; I have two dialects: my fathers brusque "Warringtonian" and my mothers more elegant, rustic, deepest Cheshire! My very best regards, Terry - Cheers! :) john
Nau Avatar
September 12, 2017 at 2:55 PM
I wrote "Fall into Winter" and this reminds me of capturing nature from a Fall day that warns of Winter's coming Mine subtly reminds us that our lives are but a season. Yours graphically underscores this with a far better job than I did. There is great framed beauty here and a foggy sadness that gets a glimpse from the rolling moors all tucked in a casement window. I had to read it twice to get the different levels of season, landscape and psychic landscape. This was a satisfying read!
Fleming Avatar
September 15, 2017 at 2:09 PM
Hello again, Edlynn. Love your comments! I will have a look at your poem "Fall into Winter"...sounds all rather charming. Till then -- all my very best! :) john
Stars Avatar
September 1, 2017 at 12:24 PM
wow man .... you write like a girl ... ha ha ... we see riddle in leaves ... nice mind drifting bro ...
Fleming Avatar
September 4, 2017 at 2:49 PM
I always enjoy your comments, Timothy...they certainly put a different slant on things; it is always good to realize how people interpret moments in different ways. Feel free to visit at anytime - much obliged! :) john
O'Haolin Whalen Avatar
August 16, 2017 at 9:15 PM
Wow John! You make me feel like a raw beginner with my silly Senryus and short poems. This is really impressive and the more so because long poems are usually not my cup of tea. But this one held me to the very end. Very descriptive in a very good way. Always easy to describe but not so easy to describe well. Your read #s are impressive. I rarely have reads beyond double digits on most of my poetry. Youre a cut above the rest.
Fleming Avatar
August 17, 2017 at 7:32 AM
David, please allow me to thank you for your kind and gracious comments...I am most appreciative - Many thanks! Cheers! :) john P.s Nice to become acquainted, David! :)
Cresswell Avatar
August 14, 2017 at 8:49 PM
Oh my I have just been on an odes thanks to your deft pen. I could almost see Heathcliff and Catherine ghostly treading over the heath. If this is your wish then I say follow your bliss. I did and have never regretted. Thank you for this ruggedly beautiful poem.
Fleming Avatar
August 15, 2017 at 2:16 PM
Hi, Patricia. Nice to meet you...it is always good to make new friends. Please be assured that you are welcome here at anytime! Many thanks for visiting and leaving such nice comments...always appreciated! My very best regards! :) john
Maverick Avatar
August 14, 2017 at 12:55 PM
Well executed display of your appriciation and awareness of your surroundings here John, I thank you for your visit to prince's poem was he just a dog.? Yes and in that being he surpassed Expectation..' There is so much to be gained in being true to yourself he brought out..' keep well Joe.)
Fleming Avatar
August 15, 2017 at 2:07 PM
Hi, Joe. Your verse about "Prince" was compelling stuff - Loved it!! Great to see you visiting again! Many thanks for leaving the comments, Joe...always very much appreciated by me. My warmest regards! :) john
Peterson Avatar
June 26, 2017 at 2:23 PM
Almost too sublime for me to render comment. Your senses are so adeptly intertwined, else could be written none so vast and wandering, yet honed with precision bordering on the divine. Thanks, John, for the gift of your words.
Fleming Avatar
July 3, 2017 at 2:20 PM
Much obliged Mark...I am very pleased you enjoyed the poem. It was inspired by a radio show I was listening to about the life of Kenneth Grahame; in general the area around his home that inspired his fantastic book "The wind in the willows"...A truly remarkable book at that! The fourth line of my poem "From high above to low below" were words spoke by the presenter when describing the woodland the writer viewed from his window, this was the model for his "Wild Wood" in his great aforementioned work. Just goes to show that inspiration can manifest itself at any given instant. Many thanks, Mark...And my very wishes! :) john
Rainwater Avatar
May 19, 2017 at 7:17 PM
great poem !
Fleming Avatar
May 20, 2017 at 1:33 PM
Thank you, Ashley...That is very kind of you to say so - Much appreciated! My warmest regards. :) john P.s I will call around very soon for another look at your poetry.
Thirtyseven Avatar
May 11, 2017 at 11:59 AM
What a fabulously inspiring window you have so wondrously described. Beautiful words.
Fleming Avatar
May 20, 2017 at 1:30 PM
Hello, Scott. Sorry it has been such a long time in replying. I am truly exhausted at this moment with what is going on at my place of work...Damned night shift - Bl..dy awful!! Thanks as always for the visit and kind words...you will be more than welcome here at anytime. Much appreciated, Scott, and - Cheers! :) john
Roper Avatar
May 7, 2017 at 4:13 PM
Beautiful view out your window breathtaking. ~*
Fleming Avatar
May 7, 2017 at 5:34 PM
Eve, always nice to see you making an appearance here at my little corner of the great "Soup"; Hope everything is well with you at the moment and life is treating you kindly. Thank you for your charming comment - So very much appreciated! My warmest regards, Eve...And my very best wishes! :) john
Downing  Avatar
May 7, 2017 at 8:08 AM
An absolute beautiful view. Just fabulous, John. I love it :)
Fleming Avatar
May 7, 2017 at 5:29 PM
Thank you, Akkina, you are most kind...And may I be permitted to say that it is a great pleasure to make your acquaintance. My best regards, Akkina - Cheers! :) john P.s Please feel free to visit at anytime...you can always be assured of a warm welcome here. :)
Deschler Avatar
April 6, 2017 at 7:38 PM
And what a lovely view it is, John, enchanting indeed... I enjoyed your poem very much... Beautifully written with such rich detail and imagery!
Fleming Avatar
April 7, 2017 at 3:02 PM
Kelly - Great to hear from you once again...Always a pleasure I can assure you! I do hope you are keeping well... and life is treating you kindly. Please visit whenever you wish...You are always most welcome here at anytime. My very warmest regards, Kelly...And my best wishes as always. :) john
Baucum Avatar
April 4, 2017 at 1:28 AM
I liked your poem.
Fleming Avatar
April 7, 2017 at 2:43 PM
Thank you, Keith...And thank you for taking the time to visit my little corner of the "Soup" and comment - Much appreciated! My best regards! :) john
Toluwalope Gideon Avatar
March 26, 2017 at 5:58 PM
Beautiful lines well-penned, John. I enjoyed reading the poem.
Fleming Avatar
March 28, 2017 at 9:07 AM
Thank you, Adeniji...It is a great pleasure to become acquainted - My best regards! :) john
Curtis Avatar
March 17, 2017 at 6:04 AM
Hi John I seldom read such lengthly works but I must say yours is well worth the time and effort. And what a journey without leaving the room, truly masterful a ten on the scale of one to seven
Fleming Avatar
March 21, 2017 at 2:58 PM
Jerry, may I say that I really enjoyed and appreciated your generous comments - Many thanks! My very best regards! :) john
Raven Avatar
March 16, 2017 at 6:47 PM
Hi John, this is a totally excellent piece of poetry. I marvel at the living scene you lay before us John.This is a poem that if you read to quickly you miss a part of the canvas. This piece is one to be savoured slowly, even then, on each reading something new can be added to the piece. Youe pen does run gold John. This has to be a seven and a fave. Your Friend....Mike.
Fleming Avatar
March 21, 2017 at 2:56 PM
Hi, Mike. So very good to see you putting in an appearance once again...I do so hope you are now feeling happier and refreshed; I am glad you are back! Thank you for all your lovely comments...They are always much appreciated by me! My very best regards...And my warmest wishes. :) john
Pinet Avatar
March 2, 2017 at 11:19 AM
Your ego must be bruised with all the praise heaped upon it...well get ready for some more. A thought provoking, gentle story, that picks up on the vast array of wonders that fill our every day world. A well constructed story that flows crisply with a pace set within the readers mind and heart. An inspiring glimpse at the wonders of life in both grandiose and minute observations. Your story flows with a pleasant beat and the words say everything by evoking thoughts within the reader's consciousness of familiarity because it is so easy to relate to the message of your story. Very well penned. Emile.
Fleming Avatar
March 21, 2017 at 2:49 PM
Emile, I really cannot think of anyone on this site, or anywhere else for that matter, that has ever left me such in-depth comments regarding my poems - Thank you so very much! I really do enjoying your remarks....They are poetry within themselves! My very best regards, Emile. Your good friend. :) john
Johnson-Saunders Avatar
February 26, 2017 at 2:06 AM
Hi John, I'm happy I found your beautiful poem tonight, a view that brings so much lovely imagery and raw emotion. I could read it again and again, finding a new treasure each time. This one goes to my faves...sending you a hug with hopes you're doing well. Rhonda :)
Fleming Avatar
February 27, 2017 at 1:10 AM
Hello again, Rhonda! Thanks for the hug...I think I need one at the minute :) So very nice to see you visiting once again at my little corner of the Soup - You have been sorely missed! May I reciprocate in kind and say that I hope that you too are also happy and content and, hopefully, enjoying life to its full. Fantastic to hear from you again, Rhonda - Your kind comments are always very much appreciated! My very best wishes...And warmest regards! :) john
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