Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Tuesday Poem - Winds and Time by Keith Westwater




 
Throughout our lives blow many winds and gales.
Tomorrow’s forecast is for dangerous gales.

Loved ones and their dreams are drowned at sea
when storms cause ships on shoals to sail.

At night, the moon is lashed by trees
while men go mad from days of nor’west gales.

Wind on sand makes seas of crescent moons
and sand on winds of time all life assails.

Take my hand, Margret my love, we’ll climb the tops
lean forward, yell, push back tomorrow’s gales.


       Keith Westwater 











 I have always had a soft spot for Keith Westwater's poetry ever since I saw this very poem "Winds and Time", I remember being so excited - and especially by the last two lines.  So excited it was easy to choose them for a favourite painting on Richard Ponder's Caught on Canvas.  I was so excited to find the perfect fit - his words just resonated.  Now the poem has been updated, and I am find I am still drawn to his use of language throughout the poem with such beautiful lines as - "Wind on sand makes seas of crescent moons." 
Although my favourite lines are - even after all this time, and a little tweaking you might not quite see -  those two final lines, they are so powerful they still make my soul sing.  So thank you Keith and congratulations on winning  Interactive Publications' 2011 IP Picks Best First Book prize for "Tongues of Ash."  

 "Keith Westwater's poetry arises from his appreciation and love of the New Zealand landscape. Well-travelled throughout the land, the poet evokes memories as he revisits places invested with emotion, history and spirituality."

 So that is why I'm particularly looking forward to Keith 's book launch at Rona Gallery - where he is going to be launching "Tongues of Ash" alongside "Men Briefly Explained" by the accomplished writer and poet and winner of the 2010 NZSA Janet Frame Memorial Award for Literature - Tim Jones.  Tim Jones' book "Men Briefly Explained" has been described, and rightfully so as - "Thought-provoking, impertinent, irreverent, witty, startling, this collection will have you mesmerised from start to finish." 



To see more of Keith's work visit here for his blog - http://www.keithwestwater.com
To see more of Tim's work visit here for his Shetland Ponies Haast Beach, and here for his blog

If you can't make it to Rona Gallery because you live in another part of the country this facebook site has a list of the venues.

Enjoy your week, I know I will

A.J. Ponder

A.J. Ponder's work is available through Rona Gallery, Amazon, and good Wellington bookstores




4 comments:

  1. Such an appropriate post and poem for today and yesterday and the day before - what a wind! I like the rhythm of this poem - like wind. The push and pull of it. Like your new layout too Alicia.

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  2. Cheers Keith for dropping by. My pleasure. Hope it's all going well and looking forward to seeing you and Tim tomorrow.

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  3. Mary lovely to hear from you again - I admit wasn't thinking about the rush of wind when I posted this - but you're right. As for the new format - it's great but there are still kinks - no sidebars and I had to change it back to the old format to add this comment. It's crazy.

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