The Evolution of “The Wind!”

27 April 202128 April 2021 | Forgotten Fields

Flock on a Distant Hill — A flock of sheep on a hill in the spring of 2017. Such a scene appears in the recently completed poems.

The Wind Trio

Sometimes, a poem takes on a very different form, once the writing process begins, and the first draft is but a germ. What started as a playful two-stanza composition about the moods of the wind, has through many variations become a meditation on its gentler moments, manifesting itself in three separate poems (a trend of late) bearing no resemblance to the original sketch.¹

The original first stanza—incidentally, inspired by a note made whilst working on “Most Sublime” (of which I wrote in “This November”, paragraph 10): “Stroking, playing, flowing, rolling, / Rippling in the grass! // Lapping, skipping, dancing, strolling, / Never where it was!”. The transformation was the result of an image evoked by “To a Wild Flower I”, creating a style more contemplative than gambolling.

They are, in order of likelihood of inclusion in the anthology: “The Wind at the Wayside”, a delicate reverie on the lightest zephyrs of spring; “On the Wind”, a variation on that subject, drawing on the same imagery; and “Ataraxia”—a word derived from Ancient Greek that refers to a state of serene calmness—a distillation of the aforementioned poems in a single four-line stanza.

Tritoniopsis antholyza, 3 December 2018. Copyright 2018 Forgotten Fields. All rights reserved. — *Tritoniopsis antholyza*, commonly known as the Rietpypie² or Bergpypie³, photographed at eventide in December 2018, the beginning of the South African summer.

The Wild Flower Trio

Next is the “Wild Flower Trio”, three poems inspired by floral finds on a heathery mountain slope in the spring of 2018. Four sketches resulted from that indelible excursion of which I wrote in “This December”. It has been two years since then, but the textures, perfumes, sights and sounds are vivid within me as I slowly move my thoughts to “Rietpypie”², the first of the set.

“Rietpypie” is Afrikaans for “little reed pipe” (pronounced “Rietpaypy” with a trilled [R]).
“Bergpypie” is Afrikaans for “little mountain pipe” (pronounced “behRCHpaypy” with a trilled [R], the guttural [CH] sound in “loch”(not the [ck] in “lock”) and the [i] in “did”).

Poetry Publication Progress (2021-04-27)

A Field Afire

24 April 202124 April 2021 | Forgotten Fields

Stubble Fire, 23 April 2021. Copyright 2021 Forgotten Fields. All rights reserved. — A stubble fire in autumn.

Autumn has come to South Africa and all across the countryside, the hills are being readied for wheat, barley and canola. Yesterday, I watched as a field was scorched of the stubble which since November has bristled upon it, the white smoke and black earth a sure sign that the green of winter approaches.

A Fox, a Bush and a Buzzard

9 August 202015 September 2020 | Forgotten Fields

Herd on the Hills, 07 August 2020. Copyright 2020 Forgotten Fields. All rights reserved. — A rough ridge of the Little River range watching over a quiet herd upon the hills.

Yesterday, for the first time, I saw a fox! I had heard of fox mischief during my childhood but had never actually seen the creature, and so I was stunned to spot one in broad daylight, making its way up a hill, turning briefly to watch me scramble for my camera. The photograph below was the frantic post-scramble result, taken with a hopelessly inadequate lens, as I was set up to photograph landscapes, ill-prepared for the zoom necessary in the moment.

It was, undoubtedly, a Cape Fox (Vulpes chama), also called the Silver-backed Fox, a small animal—about 50 cm (20 in) long, the tail adding a further 30 or so cm (11 in); about 30 cm (12 in) at the shoulder—supposedly nocturnal.

I also saw a shrub in bloom on a north-facing slope which, like so many species of fynbos¹, had been unassuming throughout the year, suddenly to impress in late winter. Unable to come sufficiently close to it, I could not identify it; however, it may be part of the Sutera family—a wild guess, based upon vague similarities with certain species in that family. When next I am in that spot, I shall make the precarious uphill climb and attempt to inspect it properly.

Another sighting (this time, photographed with a more appropriate lens) was of an adult Jackal Buzzard (Buteo rufofuscus)—a bird I have photographed many a time, and which I captured in hallmark circling flight, three years ago².

Fynbos (Afrikaans for “fine-bush”, pronounced [feynboss], with the [ey] in “feign” and the [o] in “or”, but shortened)—so named for the relative fine-ness of the shrubbery in the Western Cape province of South Africa—is an extremely heterogeneous heather-like vegetation exclusive to the region; indeed, the province (roughly the size of England) has more plant species than the whole of Europe.
Whilst recording footage for the “Verse One” short film. I shared the unused footage in question to both Facebook and Twitter.