Cameo
The morning is like copper,
a veiled threat in the sky.
We find ourselves among
patches of green poking through
a dusting of snow, scents of
woodsmoke hanging in the air.
I watch your smile break as
a blackbird alights on a bare branch,
a morsel of bread in his beak.
I shiver, adjust my coat
to find the ruff strangely
around my neck. You turn
round to see what troubles me,
your dark mantle twirling behind,
the lightness of your collar setting off
that burning gleam in your eyes,
windows on some other world.
We saunter through a sleeping garden,
hints of the dead season clinging
to brittle bushes like a bitter denial.
Standing in front of me, your soft
words are scarcely understood,
yet inwardly known. Your laugh
sends out clouds which resolve
to a gentle cough, gloved fingers
touching your chest. Without a word,
I usher you inside towards the fire
which greets us with soothing heat.
We shall warm our toes together
in its fading glow
poem and image © copyright David Francis Barker 2012
The image is from a watercolour, completed several years ago.
Ciscography 
Hi David,
what a wonderful love poem, “the lightness of your collar setting off
that burning gleam in your eyes” only a painter would see that so clearly.
The Winter image is lovely. What building is it?
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Hi Ina – thank so much once again. The building is Ayscoughee Hall in Spalding, the town where I went to school and worked for a time. Spalding has very strong Dutch connections.
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Such a beautiful poem
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Colline, thank you so much.
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That’s really sweet, old fashioned and I loved it.
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Thank you very much!
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Hi,
A lovely poem, very nice.
Your painting looks like an historical building, very nicely done.
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Thank you very much!!!
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Lovely poem of tender moments and more.
I can smell the wood fire…hmmm
The painting has a warm feel to it also.
Rx
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Oh, you’re so kind. Thank you!
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We saunter through a sleeping garden,
hints of the dead season clinging
to brittle bushes like a bitter denial. …. Very strong imagery. I love all of the contrasts of objects and scenery.
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Thank you! I am grateful to you for reading it and your lovely comments.
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I just called round to subscribe to your blog and to thank you for subscribing to my blog, i forgot all about doing it.
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Very beautiful, loving poem, David. I read it through three times and the imagery became more and more metaphorical – as you, at the end, (without a word) rush to protect your loved one from the cold…
hints of the dead season clinging
to brittle bushes like a bitter denial…
and
to a gentle cough, gloved fingers
touching your chest….
So much between these well-crafted lines, that end with that “fading glow”. A master-crafted poem!
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Beautiful imagery.
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As usual, you have made my day.
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Thank you Marcie!
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I’m grateful to you, thank you!
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I am so grateful for you kind words – I appreciate you taking the time to read and comment. Thank you.
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I am very grateful for your follow – thank you!
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A cameo memory of a walk in perfect harmony with each other and with nature. This cameo of a poem warms the heart like the last glowing embers warm the toes.
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this is beautiful yet there’s a dash of disturbing substance, mingled in the calm and snowy landscape…love the warming of toes together
in the fire’s fading glow…yet again a hint of sensed endings in the warmth…maybe it’s just me…doesn’t matter.. i like it a lot..smiles
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Hi! Yes, you are quite right once again. I wanted to convey a sense of love with unease, desire with uncertainty. Thank you!
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Ah, the gable end on that right-hand wing gives away the Dutch influence, doesn’t it. A very pretty building, and a wonderful watercolor portrait of it. I like the contrast of the warm sunlight and full greenery in the painting and your chilled wintry text. A gently romantic rescue-from-the-cold in both storyline and combined images.
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Oh, Kathryn! You spoil me! Thank you for taking the time with your lovely comments.
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Pitched roof & crenelated tower, fine painting; inside, your poem happens…
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You definitely succeeded with this, David:
“a sense of love with unease, desire with uncertainty.”
That’s what I was reading between the lines too, but afraid to say so…. there’s a foreboding in the beauty of this poem.
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Thank you!
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Betty, thank you once again!
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Such a beautiful and reverent poem….stark contrast to the Mars poem! You are gifted and multi-faceted.
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You are very kind, thank you!
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What a softly colored painting and worded tale of love ambling along to a gentle conclusion of togetherness.
‘We shall warm our toes together
in its fading glow’
How could she ever resist?
Lovely, David!
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Thank you very much! Sadly, I made the tale up, but one can dream…!
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Romantic, beautiful, beautifully, beautifully written. Cameo is so inviting that one would love to find themselves in that world if only for a day, glorying in the love to be found there.
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Thank you Thomas!
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