.
the old cane rocking chair
creaked back and forth
back and forth
on the farmhouse stoep*
the figure hunched
against the cold night air
held her warm gown close
across her bony chest
as she watched the sky
lighten almost imperceptibly
with the pale rose of the sun
birthing a new day
wondering
what it would bring
.
*stoep – South Africa a porch or veranda
©DGA 30 November 2011 04:52
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30/11/2011 at 5:23 am
Stoop – New York : porches, carry over from Dutch colonists. Probably not familiar vocab rest of USA.
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30/11/2011 at 7:12 am
I have seen and heard it pronounced stoop here too, Carl.
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30/11/2011 at 6:01 am
We’re never too old to rock and wonder and ponder the sunrise from the stoep or stoop.
Nice poem, Denise.
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30/11/2011 at 7:13 am
Lovely and peaceful in the early morning, Nancy.
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30/11/2011 at 6:21 am
I’ve spent many a morning doing just the same… watching the sun rise to a new day, Beautiful!
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30/11/2011 at 7:15 am
So nice to feel we have the whole world to ourselves!
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30/11/2011 at 6:30 am
It has been awhile, but I love sunrise, fresh, new and hopeful. Thanks for the memories.
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30/11/2011 at 7:18 am
Thank you, Jack. Glad I was able to remind you. 🙂
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30/11/2011 at 10:37 am
I should have known better..I thought stoep was a spelling mistake but you live and learn…good post
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30/11/2011 at 1:31 pm
Thanks, Patrecia. I have torn my nail right up the nail-bed and it’s taking me ages to type anything. Need some plasters…
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30/11/2011 at 12:22 pm
Exciting prose Denise; makes one want to begin a new day.
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30/11/2011 at 1:32 pm
Thanks, Maxi. New days can be such a blessing if we let them. 🙂
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30/11/2011 at 3:06 pm
i like that she is birthing the new day gently…i think that might make all the difference in the world right there….instead of being alarmed and off tot he races…
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30/11/2011 at 3:48 pm
Yes, it would be good if someone could slow the world down for a while…
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30/11/2011 at 4:26 pm
The only way one can pedal time in oldage is rocking to and fro in an easy chair.
Time seems to sink with age moving drudgery slow when you are challenged and trying to outsmart you sprinting when you are young.
Hope always rises like sun and moon on the horizon whenever you could log in to the nature in the twilight hours.
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30/11/2011 at 5:36 pm
Sunamu this is such a lovely comment. I love it – especially your first sentence, my friend! You have such wisdom.
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30/11/2011 at 7:04 pm
lovely image of a moment in the life of this individual – like a snapshot (love this kind of poetry)
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30/11/2011 at 8:28 pm
Thank you, Ruth, for this lovely compliment. I am always envious of the way you express yourself! 😀
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30/11/2011 at 9:55 pm
Amazing what a vivid picture the mind is able to fill in with the prompting of these words. The person, scene and circumstances are all brought to mind, rather as if a whole story had been told.
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