Open Poetry #6 |
Down By The Waterfall .......(A challenge from Lost Dreamer) |
hoot_owl_rn Member Patricius
since 1999-07-05
Posts 10750Glen Hope, PA USA |
(Lost Dreamer gave me a line and the challenge was to use it in a poem....so here it is. Thanks Gloria ) Down By The Waterfall She was only Eighteen That night in July At the Dale County fair Where a boy caught her eye He was only Nineteen Just barely a man With a head full of dreams Some hopes and a plan They dated that summer Stole each other's heart They were meant for each other They knew from the start They spent countless days Summer on into fall Near the banks of the river By the steep waterfall It was there that he asked her If she’d be his wife There, that they married And started their life Their love, it grew stronger With each passing day ‘Till that fateful November When they called him away He handed her flowers When he walked in the door Broke the news gently He’d been called to war She begged and she pleaded “Please don’t go away!” “It’s my duty,” he told her “You know I can’t stay” He left two weeks later Softly kissed her goodbye Said he be back soon As she started to cry Just two short months later Came a knock on the door Two uniformed men said He’d been killed at war She went crazy that day So the story is told Ran down to the river So deep and so cold They searched frigid waters But no body was found So a dark, empty casket Was sunk in the ground They say that her ghost Haunts the calm river bank Down near crystal falls Where her frail body sank Sometimes late at night You can still hear her call Where the dark, raging river Meets the steep waterfall < !signature--> The poet's job is to put into words those feelings we all have that are so deep, so important, and yet so difficult to name, to tell the truth in such a beautiful way that people cannot live without it. ~Jane Kenyon [This message has been edited by hoot_owl_rn (edited 03-07-2000).] |
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© Copyright 2000 Ruth Kephart - All Rights Reserved | |||
Seymour Tabin Member Empyrean
since 1999-07-07
Posts 31720Tamarac Fla |
Hoot, Well you certainly met the challenge. A wonderful story and a wonderful poem. *L* |
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Lost Dreamer Member Elite
since 1999-06-20
Posts 2464Somewhere near the Rainbow |
Ruth, This is fabulous, I can't believe you took a simple sentence and created this, a talented artist you are my friend, and I thank you for writing a brilliant poem here and giving me credit for the challenge. |
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Denise
Moderator
Member Seraphic
since 1999-08-22
Posts 22648 |
This is excellent, Ruth. Sad and captivating tale. Denise |
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Butterflies_dont_cry Member Elite
since 2000-03-06
Posts 3733Michigan |
You are an amazing writer! You created a poem that let the reader feel so many emotions...hope, happiness, peace, fear, heartbreak, dread....and so many more. |
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Honeybee Member Ascendant
since 1999-12-26
Posts 5372Ontario, CANADA |
Wow, what a beautiful and bittersweet story and poem. You are an amazing talent indeed. If anyone was born to become a poet, it certainly was you. I am curious to find out what the line was that lost dreamer asked you to use in your poem. Please tell us. Take care, Melissa Honeybee |
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hoot_owl_rn Member Patricius
since 1999-07-05
Posts 10750Glen Hope, PA USA |
Since you asked Melissa...the line was: Where the raging river meets the waterfall as you can see, I edited it slightly to fit the rest of the poem. Thanks for the kind replies to this one |
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wildbill58 Junior Member
since 2000-02-26
Posts 19 |
great,Hoot |
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Martie
Moderator
Member Empyrean
since 1999-09-21
Posts 28049California |
Ruth, this was so well done! |
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Tara Simms Senior Member
since 1999-08-12
Posts 1244Honea Path, SC USA |
Great poem, Ruth. Reminds me of Garth Brooks' song "The winds of Cheyenne" or something like that. |
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Marge Tindal
since 1999-11-06
Posts 42384Florida's Foreverly Shores |
Hoot~ Girl, you are just brimming with talent ! This is wonderful. ~*Marge*~ ~*The pen of the poet never runs out of ink, as long as we breathe.*~ [email protected] |
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Mistikman Senior Member
since 2000-01-10
Posts 682San Jose, CA, USA |
Wow Ruth, this is excellent, it gave me goosebumps all the way through. |
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First__Knight Senior Member
since 1999-11-08
Posts 678 |
Nothing but the best ever escapes your writings Ruth. Your one of a kind |
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Dark Angel Member Patricius
since 1999-08-04
Posts 10095 |
ooh Ruth this is beautiful and very sad, gave me goosebumps also. Well Done! What comes from the heart goes to the heart. Samuel Coleridge |
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Christopher
Moderator
Member Rara Avis
since 1999-08-02
Posts 8296Purgatorial Incarceration |
Arrgh! Lift me up, then throw me down! Twist these tangled feelings why dontcha? Actually, the sign of a great poet, to tug and twist the strings of the heart and mind. You've done so Ruth! |
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hoot_owl_rn Member Patricius
since 1999-07-05
Posts 10750Glen Hope, PA USA |
Once more, thank you everyone, you are too kind with your comments |
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Nate Dogg Senior Member
since 1999-11-15
Posts 1658Georgia, Fulton |
This is a very powerful and emotional poem Hoot! This is definitely a classic! Nathan |
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