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At Dorr Point

Our far too brief excursion about to cease,
We walked the woods to Dorr Point—one last parting
Immersion in resuscitating peace.
But what we witnessed at trail’s end was startling:
Jangling restless roiling commotion, wild
Jostling spit wave chops smacking granite blocks
(Compass Harbor’s usual calm beguiled).
Delighted, you danced across perilous rocks.
Evidently, a fading North bound storm
A thousand miles away composed the scene
(Cosmic mechanics fated its genesis).
And we were there because love’s motive impulse
Had brought us there—commingling life with this
Enchanting dance of water, rock and sun.

 

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Kevin Farnham lives in Northeastern Connecticut (“The Quiet Corner”). His poetry has appeared in The Lyric Magazine. His book “Twelve Sonnets: A Defense of Spirit” is the beginning of a long sonnet sequence titled “The Autumn Sonnets.”

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6 Responses

  1. Paul A. Freeman

    Some raw imagery that fits the topic, perfectly.

    Loved the line ‘Cosmic mechanics fated its genesis’ once I got my brain round it, and what a fantastic last line.

    The turn in the poem is interesting. Until the eighth line we have perfect rhyme. Then the remnants of a storm impinges on the nostalgic view of the harbour (like lost innocence?), rhyme becomes half rhymes and internal rhymes, emphasising a world upturned.

    Well, that’s how I read it.

    Thanks for the read, Kevin.

    Reply
  2. Susan Jarvis Bryant

    What a shining gem this poem is amid all the all the world’s madness and mayhem. I especially like the onomatopoeic line: “jostling spit wave chops smacking granite blocks”, “(Cosmic mechanics fated its genesis)”, and the magnificent “commingling life with this /Enchanting dance of water, rock and sun.” – beautiful. This poem is especially vivid having gone through some pretty brutal roof-ripping, tree-toppling Texas storms these last couple of weeks. Kevin, thank you.

    Reply
  3. Shamik Banerjee

    Your visit to the point meant for finding peace before leaving the region completely turned out to be discordant, but with an air of life and animation. What was meant to be placid turned out to be a noisy yet lively display of waves. The cosmic mechanics’ unpredictable change. I also like the theory given by Mr. Freeman and fully agree with Susan’s words. Thanks for this refreshing sonnet, Kevin.

    Reply
  4. Martin Rizley

    I love nature poems that bring to the mind´s eye vivid images of nature´s kaleidoscopic beauty. You succeed in doing that in this poem. The last line hints, ever so subtly, at the striking parallelism behind the dynamic, vigorous “motive impulse” that brings two loving, living hearts together in joyful communion and the heart-thrilling dynamism one sees in the “dancing” realm of nature around us.

    Reply
    • Kevin Farnham

      Martin, you see the poem clearly. It is both parallelism and juxtaposition with respect to what Nature is “doing” and what the lovers are feeling/doing/thinking. There is a also a differentiation between the lovers: one pauses to speculate about what physical mechanical process must be producing the observed effect; while the other simply delights and immediately dances in tune with the kaleidoscopic gift Nature has provided. In the end, the first lover realizes that dancing with Nature is much more appropriate engagement than intellectual analysis of it.

      Reply

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