Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Today's poem by Iva E. Reed

Leaning, Lending a Hand

There is a way
the light slants

in the late afternoon
or fresh after a muted rain,
against the moss painted side
of a sagging shed, like the light
was leaning to lend a hand to help
an old enfeebled friend to stand.

Shadow shrouded,
the surrounding trees shift and
sway, drift and nod; old cronies
of the ancient shed, lifting and
lowering their palsied heads,
having their say.

Iva E. Reed
1980

16 comments:

  1. That is a great poem and so very fitting for today as it was rather grey and shadowy here.

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  2. And we had lots of sunshine for a change, Staci!

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  3. Describes my walk and what I observed this past week perfectly!
    Thank you for sharing!
    Joanne

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  4. Hi Nan,

    I am not a poetry buff, but I do like to read occasionally.

    This must be one of the nicest poems I have read. The images it conjures up are vivid and real, it is short, and the words used are beautifully put together.

    A real find, thank you.

    Yvonne

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  5. Joanne, Geranium Cat, One Woman, and Fiction Books,

    I thank each of you for reading the poem, caring for it, and taking the time to leave a note. Iva is an old friend of ours, and we think her work is very special.

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  6. I really love it when you post poems Nan. This one is so lovely.
    Had not heard of the author and want to look her up.

    It is full of pictures -- as one of the above comments said.

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  7. Oh -- I just re-read all of the comments and see that Ivy is your friend. How lovely.

    I meant to ask: Is your beautiful home full of books of poetry? If not do you have a website you go to? (I don't have much room for very many "forever" books -- just my birding and atlases etc and a very few that I couldn't let go when we sold the house -- and, of course, room for the current reads from the library or wherever (to return or give away).

    I still seem to need those daily books even with my new toy (Kindle). I think you said that as well!

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  8. Sallie, I am really happy you liked the poem. If you click on the poems tab under the blog header and scroll down, you'll see a couple more by Iva Reed. Yes, I do own a bunch of poetry books.

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  9. I love these words! Thanks so much Nan.

    Sharon Lovejoy Writes from Sunflower House and a Little Green Island

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  10. I'm so very glad you liked it, Sharon!

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  11. Colleen, I wish Iva had internet so she could read the nice responses. She would be so pleased.

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