wandered off

preamble to a trip back to Daniel Boone's fort . . . and come to think of it a woman that would leave the protection of hearth and home to brave the wilds . . . she must be a little crazy

If you should chance to find me gone

absent from spinning wheel and loom

dasher idle in the butter churn

 

If you survey the fields and hills

to find me not at work in the garden

and not returning from the spring

 

If you should look around to find

sewing cast aside

dishes strewn unwashed on the hearth

 

It could be

     I've wandered off alone down to the river

     to lose myself in the cool flow.

 

Author's Note

getting excited for the coming weekend

Reviews

[Adrian K. Smith]

Well, I read the piece - I thought about what I know of you - the two contradicted - I skimmed the reviews, and they seemed to agree more with what I know of you than what I saw. For the life of me, it may be the mood that I have been in of late - but I saw this as a suicide piece. As somebody that looked as if they were going about their normal lives in a normal manner, suddenly disappears... having loosed themselves to the cool still flow, perhaps as Ophelia did in Hamlet. Yes, I definitely saw something different here - perhaps I need to get out of left field.

[An Ordinary Woman]

Wow. This is spectacular. It is earthy and homey and perfect in every way. It reads as I feel, I miss the river and life when it was simpler. This is just like going home for a while. I love it.

[Gaiamethod]

I love this. It reminds me of Thomas Hardy...
To escape the mundane everyday life and release into the flow of nature. I could really do with that now!
Lovely, inspiring work.

[J. Hampton]

There is something exhilerating about dashing off ..
on a whim ....just saying ..."to heck with it" !

Sounds like a good weekend to me.... !

a nice feel to this ...

Blessssssssss

[The Muse]

So many memories of my mountain childhood...work, work work....but yet, the joy, of life...the amusement and cleansing of the hard week's labor, the river.

[Doug]

i liked this a lot. the flow is great. i need to work on that. inspiring work here!

-doug-

[Solst Rapture]

I enjoyed this until the last line. I struggled with 'loosed'. Otherwise, the structure is well crafted - the first 3 stanza's slowly pushing me on to the main point, that you may have 'lost' yourself to cool river. Still and flow are slightly contradicting too, I think.

My honest opinion is that the last line lets it down a bit and if re-considered, could round off a very good poem. It's unique as it is, which is refreshing...

[J]

The pressures of work and chores becomes endless tedium, that I can agree and empathise with, most definitely. And what you show here: a willingness to escape and laugh and be merry and forget and be part of the fun... if only more would do this instead of stressing out over mundane responsibilities, right?

[Kris]

I see this has more as a dropping all of your work and just relaxing, than a suicide poem. I do understand where it could be viewed as one, but that's not my interpretation of it. I really liked it.

[Antony]

AH! I do like this thought, take me away from those everyday chores, those things that keep me steady on my feet, for I just want to think in calm rivers and romance myself into words, that is where my heart lies and don't come looking for me, I will be hiding. That is my interpretation of this wonderful poem Emily.
Antony