NaPoWriMo: Poem 18 - The Wedding Guests at Allerton Mansion
As part of National Poetry Writing Month, I will be writing 30 poems in 30 days. I will try to write one each day, but if I miss a day or two, I will catch up on later days. Sometimes I will be following prompts; while other days will come from my own ideas.
I wrote some poetry while I was away and am sharing that, as well as working on getting caught up!
Allerton Mansion's brick exterior, with a marble sphinx looking on
The Wedding Guests at Allerton Mansion, Monticello, Illinois
A place so ostentatious
should have ghosts: blooming
pale at sunset in the boxwood maze,
roaming like pale sentries
past alabaster sculptures, whose
faces range from Hellenic
to blank, pie-pan primates.
At night, the ear strains
in vain for wails and moans,
phantom footsteps and
distant unexplained thumping.
Instead, halogen comfort
and familiar sounds from guests
and staff: tapping feet on
loud modern tiles, murmuring voices,
omnipresent TV buzz. Those
who walked these wide halls
by gaslight would find us
garish. To us, their world
archaic, courtly --
unrealistic. Like a formal
painting, muddied with time.
A sphinx with the pond.
A deliberately unfinished statue
The boxwood maze, with trees
A statue on a pedestal, with a long late-morning shadow
The grand staircase, carpeted in red
Like this poem? Donate any amount and receive a special limited-edition ebook, available as a PDF in May, titled "Now with Kung-Fu Action Grip." It will include poetry, essays and humor pieces about pregnancy, parenting and my creative, determined toddler, nicknamed Kung Fu Panda, including writings about our recent trip to Illinois, where he was the ringbearer in a wedding.
To donate by check or money order, please make it payable to "Alyce Wilson," include a note giving your e-mail address, and mail it to:
Alyce Wilson
P.O. Box 39706
Philadelphia, PA
19106-9706
You can donate via Paypal (using a credit card if you prefer) using the button below.
I wrote some poetry while I was away and am sharing that, as well as working on getting caught up!
Allerton Mansion's brick exterior, with a marble sphinx looking on
The Wedding Guests at Allerton Mansion, Monticello, Illinois
A place so ostentatious
should have ghosts: blooming
pale at sunset in the boxwood maze,
roaming like pale sentries
past alabaster sculptures, whose
faces range from Hellenic
to blank, pie-pan primates.
At night, the ear strains
in vain for wails and moans,
phantom footsteps and
distant unexplained thumping.
Instead, halogen comfort
and familiar sounds from guests
and staff: tapping feet on
loud modern tiles, murmuring voices,
omnipresent TV buzz. Those
who walked these wide halls
by gaslight would find us
garish. To us, their world
archaic, courtly --
unrealistic. Like a formal
painting, muddied with time.
A sphinx with the pond.
A deliberately unfinished statue
The boxwood maze, with trees
A statue on a pedestal, with a long late-morning shadow
The grand staircase, carpeted in red
Like this poem? Donate any amount and receive a special limited-edition ebook, available as a PDF in May, titled "Now with Kung-Fu Action Grip." It will include poetry, essays and humor pieces about pregnancy, parenting and my creative, determined toddler, nicknamed Kung Fu Panda, including writings about our recent trip to Illinois, where he was the ringbearer in a wedding.
To donate by check or money order, please make it payable to "Alyce Wilson," include a note giving your e-mail address, and mail it to:
Alyce Wilson
P.O. Box 39706
Philadelphia, PA
19106-9706
You can donate via Paypal (using a credit card if you prefer) using the button below.