F.H. King Poetry

A couple of weeks ago we celebrated our Summer kick-off with a potluck and we hosted our first ever Agrarian Poetry Night with success. There was of course, some Wendell Berry read but there were several participants who read original material. Here is a few of their contributions, enjoy:

ONE ACRE PARADISE by Ben Fox

Ride my bike along
a path that smells
like an ocean
Wind surfing
through my hair.

This is only the start
to a day of real life
escape, with friends
and strangers
that become friends.

There is no silence,
even when no one talks
the birds sing away.
The rows of vibrant colors
saturate my vision and
the only faces
are smiling ones.

As I lay
on a hammock
during lunch break
with eyes closed,
I realize the bliss
surrounding me.

An Ode to Cranes by John Welton

 
When the young summer leaves
lay low on the boughs, and
the grains of field grass bow
to the wind,

When old men walk
upright after the crutch
of winter has gone, writing
their final chapters amongst
the irises in a gentle rain,
past the beauty of young
people whose thoughts bend towards
firelight love and smoke-filled
embraces when no others are looking,

When labor and laughter melt
together in sunlight into the
sweetness of sweat that sticks
to your mind as a fond memory,

When the pain of watching
another friend walk from your path
is postponed, and you
share a smile, together,

When the woods rest in
perpetual shade, and one walks
under a soft avian serenade
until water crashes against the
cliff, below, and the wet mirror
that faces you
exposes happiness,
fear, desire, doubt, confusion--

And when this pain
fades into dreams forgotten,
the cranes come,
teaching us grace, the
sanctity of family,
and patience, once all the strawberries have gone.

Earthy by Edmond Ramly

Cornfields, maple trees, and snow,
With clouds overhead that glow,
Drenched in the sunset and the breeze,
Dancing with herons and geese.

A house buried in the hills,
Meekly hidden from the chills,
Basking in the calm embrace
Of the forest’s peace and grace.

Smiles and laughter all around,
Flavors and colors abound,
Feline purring near the flames,
In the midst of songs and games.

More by Edmond Ramly:

Summer Delight 

 About a dozen we were that night
Enjoying the evening’s fading light

 Blissfully singing around the fire
Watching the flames slowly expire.

 We had all shared with one another
Food for the body, poems for the mind

 The sky was our only cover
Relieving us from the daily grind.

More by Ben Fox:

REFRIGERATOR REFRESHMENT

Hand cools down
touching
your beautiful
body.

Ingest you,
intending
to cool down.

PORCUPINES

The fish
furiously fight the current.
Survive, survive
survival of the fittest.

As I walk away
from the river stream,
the water over rocks
sound fades slowly,
and does dissipate.

TWENTY

I am a real man
now. Twenty years
gone by, summer
of my life. I have been
enjoying many moments:
family love always uplifts,
friends know when
to dance is real joy.
I feel blessed to be
so painless
and carefree. Time
to fill my pain meter
and give out
a little bit
of that LOVE.