the little grey lady of the sea
Martha’s Vineyard is running fat
with high-end Bermudas
Melissa Odabash beachwear –
well-heeled bohemia
let’s escape
take a boat trip
to Nantucket
we loved that spring
at the cedar-shingle hotel
with the creaking rusting sign
and the little grey creaking
maîtresse de maison
who brushing the stoep
with a besom broom
sang Huguenot villanelles
each day before dawn
racing rattling bicycles down
Main Street cobbles,
showing off, you fell off
and hobbled the holiday
with your leg encased
I wrote obscenities
at the top of the cast
where only I, not
Mme Du Cros, could see
the smiling maîtresse patted your head
made you torte and cherries –
‘nourriture de confort’,
or so she said.
I heard Mme Du Cros died –
one winter storm too many
her heart gave out
they put her to earth in Prospect Hill
we’ll seek her out
pay our respects
it will be good to see
the place
our little grey lady lays
I’ll gentle
a pinch of your ashes
over her grave.
I challenged myself to write a piece about some place I’ve never been to and of which I had no prior knowledge. Hitherto I thought Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket were onland townships not islands. I had to sleep on a conclusion – the one that transpired took me by surprise.
Considering you’ve never been there, you paint a very pleasant blue and white scene of New England America. However, I don’t know why, I kept visualising a 50’s French resort in black and white. Probably the Huguenot thing and the mention of racing bikes down cobbled streets.
I like this very much.
Thanks, G. I saw a pic of the cobblestone Main Street and the Paris – Roubaix bike race came to mind. Falling off and breaking a leg seemed a likely consequence etc etc and it unfolds as a film before the mind’s eye. Great fun provided you get a good/interesting starting point. Rick. ps I did not have a title then found out that ‘the little grey lady of the sea’ is a nick-name for Nantucket 🙂 pps The Huguenot aspect came about as I thought there might be Huguenots in New England as there were – Du Cros is… Read more »
Well, I just think this is excellent. I love its emotive quality – demonstrated so eloquently in the last stanza. Love it.
Thanks, Griff. Those last few lines took ages – ‘scatter’, ‘sprinkle’, etc – all kinds of words came and went – settled for ‘gentle’ as it kinda adds a delicacy to the pathos (or is that total rubbish? ) Rick.
No, not rubbish at all. Works excellently.