Mariangel
Mariangel
With teeth white as milk,
and a complexion fair,
the spring sun now doth
tint her golden hair;
while soon the blush of youth
ripens to a comely grace,
as all of Springtime’s pleasures
she does willingly embrace,
In the gladness of her face.
Summer days come glad to stay,
while she enjoys each precious hour
reposing in her lovers bower,
and as the time slowly extends,
in her beauty she finds content,
for all that is lovely and fair,
justly reflects what is there:
fields of new-ripened corn,
in the sunshine of her hair.
Twas on an early Autumn day,
while she was looking away,
at russet leaves now falling;
her latest young man’s love,
took up his clothes and left,
leaving her at once bereft,
in her doorway softly crying,
as he rode away on his horse.
As she combs her long white hair,
winter now comes as a reminder
of all that’s been left behind her;
with no regretting or forgetting
of her many handsome lovers;
and while it may be just as well,
she’s finally capped the well,
sweet lilies still grow around it.
© D G Moody
D, you now have me checking the punctuation rather than reading the poem!
“lovers” should be “lover’s” or lovers'”
The aging with the seasons comes across well, but I felt this was a very masculine perspective and the ending, while humorous, did not do justice to a woman whose beauty has been used yet who bears no spite.
I’m covered in shame, for the punctuation! Physician cure thyself! Anyway B, thanks for the comments, always appreciated. I take your point about perspective, but I was partly dealing with how unfair life could be for this woman; and while men seem to get away with being older (if they are rich enough!), a woman’s bloom fades sooner. The capping of the well was intended in a respectful way, and not in a joking manner; but there we go – we can read into it from different perspectives. As a matter of interest, I’d originally inserted some archaic language into… Read more »
I have read this several times and feel I understand her more with
each reading, to look back on such a life with pleasure and feel no regrets is more than many of us can do.
No need to cap the well, she will still have a lot to give, as testified by
the lilies. Sue.
Thanks for the comment Sue. The poem – such as it is, came from the phrase:
She’s capped the well
But lilies still grow around it.
I had this in my work book for some years, so thought to build on it – hence the poem. what the well signifies is clear, but at the same time the lilies give the lie to a final closure; so maybe life is still unfolding? Anyway, as such not a profound poem.
Very powerful stuff. I especially liked the phrasing of the first stanza which reminded me of the work of Laurence Hope – don’t ask me to explain why, it just did. The whole of it though, had the fingerprint of your careful understanding of the human condition. Really appreciated reading this.
Allen
Thanks Allen. I have to confess I’m not familiar with Laurence Hope – but I’ll look him up.
Ha! It’s Adele ‘Violet’ Nicholson, writing under a male name (why I wonder?). My wife’s mothers poetry has a similar feel.
Dodge
It is a bygone age, but she has the power to make my mind transcend time. She wrote so much about love, but what a tragic ending to such a gem of a life, I feel.
Now update 18.06.2021
Dodge.