Where Old Fliers Come to Roost

Ancient Eagle Press

Each month Ancient Eagle Press offers a poem appropriate to the season or the mood of our editorial staff.   Poems may be new or drawn from existing AEP editions.

August 2017

We’re moving!  After a long search, we found our piece of paradise.  The floors have now been refinished and the last rooms have been cut in, primed for their final coat of paint.  There will be a few renovations in the future, but nothing that will stop us from settling in.  I’ve enjoyed the skylight above the AEP editor’s desk these past two years, but am happily trading it for a library and an office with windows overlooking the lake.  While loading the closets with cameras, inventory and current projects I have noticed eagles, osprey, herons, deer and foxes near the water’s edge.  They lend a tranquility to the place that will either inspire me or lull me into somnambulance.  Meanwhile, I’ve given the house to the painters but have launched the kayak and have begun to explore the lake.  For the August Poem of the Month, then, I offer a draft from my first excursion on the lake, Pelham.

Poem of the Month

                                                         Pelham

  Dusk puts its spine against the light,
  Backing day into the horizon.
  From the stillness of the lake I know I should go,
  But here I feel the peace of you and hold a little longer.
  I paddle to the chorus of frogs,
  Along the reed bed toward home;
  Dragonflies dance, soft sparks of fading sunlight,
  The sparkle of your eyes, always fresh in my mind.
  The boat is old, its hull scarred and faded,
  Too many rocky shores and days in the sun,
  But sturdy for it all, with enough heart to get us home.
  We’ve been good together, a lifetime on the water,

  With only a few regrets: when doing the right thing

  Was wrong, and left the deepest scars.
  But dusk keeps pushing, leaving no time for return or regret,
  There is still light enough to enjoy
  The pendant and the marsh lily,
  The heron and the eagle,
  The sunset and the memories of you.

  L. Alloway // 2017
 

                            Archives

  July 2017 --  Siena

  June 2017 -- Loyal, Straight, and True

  May 2017 --  A Thousand Flowers

  April 2017 -- Oboe Rap

  March 2017 - March Madness

  February 2017 -- The Cost of Doing Business

  January 2017 -- Reflection at a Winter Window

  December 2016 -- The Creation

  November 2016 -- Hemolymph Moon

  October 2016 -- Vortex

  September 2016 -- Do You?

  August 2016 -- Sailing
  July 2016 --  Mulberries
  June 2016 -- Off Tucker Point
  May 2016 -- Unforgettable
  April 2016 -- At Night She Cries