Sunday, June 15, 2014

The River


..
I looked up the river
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I looked up the river for more
I saw what everyone else sees
Bridges, and boats going to sea
Children walking along the shore
But there was more than that, I knew
Men, women who built the bridges
Where are they now? On the edges
Famous and rich, only a few
.
More one does not see, nothing new
For every child who walks the shore
Those hungry and cold, hundreds more
Destitute, poor, more than a few
The river is pretty, bustling
Economic activity
Shows its best, yet a brevity
Shadows hide the beggars hustling
.  ..

Picture and Poem Copyright, © 2014 Jimmiehov, All Rights Reserved
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Today I am linked with Kerry at the Real Toads, Sunday Form Challenge
and Tomorrow I will be linked with Kerry at the Real Toads, Open Link Monday

The Yeats Octave
The basic structure of this 8 line stanza is iambic tetrameter or pentameter (eight or ten syllable lines for those who do not feel comfortable working with meter), with the rhyme scheme:
a b b a c d d c. The poem may then consist of any number of stanzas.
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I chose two 8 line stanzas in iambic (not perfect) tetrameter
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I took this picture in May, 2014, looking South up the Thames River from the London Eye
 

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16 Comments:

At Monday, June 16, 2014 12:39:00 AM, Blogger Sumana Roy said...

I appreciate your power of vision and the thoughts that arise from it....very nicely written..

 
At Monday, June 16, 2014 1:22:00 AM, Blogger Unknown said...

wow so much to see in the river... most of us would be lost in the beuty of the landscape... and some like you would think beyond !! very beautiful!!

 
At Monday, June 16, 2014 2:30:00 AM, Blogger Kerry O'Connor said...

Do you know, I have never considered the very question you pose when looking at modern structures: who and where are the people who built them? The labourers themselves rather than the architects. Your final line is brilliant.

 
At Monday, June 16, 2014 5:21:00 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I love how you went deeper than the mere beauty and to the very heart of life. I love your last line.

 
At Monday, June 16, 2014 6:37:00 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Yay yes, beautiful close especially, but great river view. Some of the builders actually seem to die--building bridges a pretty fierce activity--thanks. K.

 
At Monday, June 16, 2014 9:35:00 AM, Blogger brudberg said...

The creation of such structures have a price that we always tend to forget.. same with railways and roads.. the life of navvy was hard

 
At Monday, June 16, 2014 11:15:00 AM, Blogger Sherry Blue Sky said...

Jim, I love the perspective in this poem - everything looking bright and bustling - and then you show us those in the shadows we do not see, or even think about, looking at the bustling scene - until the poet reminds us that they are there. Well done!

 
At Monday, June 16, 2014 11:48:00 AM, Blogger Maude Lynn said...

Fabulous job with the form, Jim. Wow!

 
At Monday, June 16, 2014 2:42:00 PM, Blogger hyperCRYPTICal said...

Yes, there is much we fail to see.
Anna :o[

 
At Monday, June 16, 2014 5:43:00 PM, Blogger Grace said...

Well done with the form Jim ~ I specially like this part:

Shadows hide the beggars hustling

 
At Monday, June 16, 2014 11:04:00 PM, Blogger Ella said...

You make me see from many angles~ I like this poem~ Sad, but I had a classmate that built bridges in MASS. Brilliant man ended up addicted to drugs and homeless?!
I just found out-I had no idea... Yes, so much we do not see! Well Done

 
At Tuesday, June 17, 2014 11:53:00 AM, Blogger Marian said...

very, very nice. that final line leaves the reader to ponder, for sure. i would not have recognized this as the Yeats form... a great thing, you done good here, Jim.

 
At Tuesday, June 17, 2014 10:53:00 PM, Blogger audrey` said...

Empathy and compassion are shown in your poem, Dr Jim :)

 
At Thursday, June 19, 2014 12:13:00 AM, Blogger Kay L. Davies said...

Wow, Jim, and Ella's comment brings your observation home...how many bridge-builders end up under the bridge? Engineers and architects who succumbed to addiction, or hourly workers who were injured on the job.
Cities have a million stories. We're fortunate to have you writing with the Toads.
K

 
At Thursday, June 19, 2014 12:26:00 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

strongly penned, Jim ~

 
At Friday, June 20, 2014 9:45:00 PM, Blogger Hannah said...

So many facets of the river and its many people...well written, Jim.

 

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