What I love about Ruth Padel is her wonderful way with words, her surreal descriptions. Like here, in this poem, a fox is a 'Parade of white shirtfront. A flame, horizontal,/with ear.'
And maybe this poem has helped me like this time of year just a bit better - just look at the colours in it - 'tangerine sparkler-head...wine-dark lily, dawnglow apricot' - a veritable autumn painting!
In The Open - Ruth Padel
September: Blood Moon, Wine Moon
Grape-cluster. Sacrifice. Pigs killed for winter
provision. Adults and cubs
look the same now: sorrelflame, split
conker, goldfish, marmalade; a splinter
of sanguine chrysanthemum,
tangerine sparkler-head, lit.
You meet him, your late summer fox, as you turn
off the lights, zipping back from a night with your girl,
and watch St Pancras' pinnacles
stamp phosphorous ribbons on a glory sky
of wine-dark lily, dawnglow apricot.
Here he is, sniffing. Those scenting-cells
wind you exactly. No mange, and no moult.
Parade of white shirtfront. A flame, horizontal,
with ears (one back, and one forward);
gilt eyes under fox-frown. And not - till
you brake, stop the engine - afraid.
Ohhhhh, this is gorgeous. SOOOO gorgeous. Such colour and description - like you, I love 'parade of white shirtfront'...and also those wonderful, Autumnal images in 'sorrelflame, split conker, goldfish, marmalade; a splinter...'
ReplyDeleteAnd! The line with the moon name at the top? I wrote a poem this week titled 'A Year Of Moons' based on the names given in old almanacs for each month's full moon...lovely little synchronicity there that made me smile :)
Thanks Cheryl! I know, isn't it just! I love Ruth Padel's poetry - I am always taken aback by her unusual, but brilliant descriptions. The colours in this are gorgeous indeed!
ReplyDeleteCool - you should post that poem on your blog! I'd love to see it - I'm completely taken with all those names for the moons and what they mean. I love this month's Harvest Moon, and am particularly tickled by April's full moon name ' pink moon!
Ruth Padel actually has a poem written for every month/moon in the year too, based around foxes. They're in her collection 'The Soho Leopard.' Check it out!