Fourth April Blog
Poppy Harvest.
The fields lie fallow, with brown bare earth,
Seed of the corn has been sown.
With April droplets and bright sunshine,
New shoots will show, wind-blown.
Green tops sprout above the dark soil
To greet the bright spring blue sky,
And in amongst the corn and wheat,
The poppy shoots grow, by and by.
Their tender stems, reach willowy,
And climb up with the ripening corn,
And long before the harvester comes,
Red buds open to greet each dawn.
Their frondy leaves curl through the day,
And papery flowerheads spread,
And breezes catch them unawares,
Each bright red silken head.
The sunlight glistens brightly
On petals blown by wind, all around.
They dance among the ripening wheat,
Like a Spaniard’s flamenco gown.
Its centre, like an ebony anenome,
Calling insects and bees to pollinate,
Then swiftly, as if they cannot stay,
Their petals fall limp, and abate.
For the swathe of blood, seen from afar
Has died, as summer has waned,
Their seeds have grown fat and soon will disperse,
Like swallows above church weather vanes.
The corn grows golden and smothers the seed
Of summer’s bright friend of the field.
The combine will come and the corn will be cut,
Together both seeds, they will yeild.
Copyright Evelyn J. Steward. Aoril, 2016.
(My apologies. If this picture comes through, then I fear, it us not yet quite complete as my reds are far darker than I want for the poppies. Also I know that the foreground poppies are much too large for reality. This is deliberate. I wantef to make them a sratement, I also want this picture for this blog. I may make them smaller later, when new colours arruve, and if I am able. So once again I apologise and give you all these reasons.)
Changes!
There used to be lots more fields sown with corn, wheat, oats and barley. But sadly, many of these crops have delclined. We buy wheat and corn from Europe and other lplaces more often than we used to do, to fill in the gaps of what we need, what we use and do nit now produce. Partly because I think our weather for ripening such crops is never as dry and warm as is needed. But personally speaking I feel that many fields have now been put over to yellow rape. You see fields and fields of the stuff. Drive down to the coast ( if only) and you can see them from afar. Bright yellow from miles away.
Now I know that farming is a tough life these days. I do understand that possibly the old crops are hard to harvest and may not bring in the ‘bucks’ so they have to plant crops like rape that are more cash worthy. But my point is that we are fast losing all our heritage. Not only in farming, but in other ways.
I suppose we have to move with the times. You only have to look how we have all embraced the Internet. Global! But what are we losing? Conversation, for one. Anyway, that notwithstanding, our young are losing the power of speech! They have transferred that power to fingers. The same as I am doing, only mostly on phones.
Perhaps I am standing too far back? Perhaps I was born too long ago, when the world was a torally different time. Maybe, I am thoight of as a Dodo? In my case, almost extinct. And I will be, some time in the future.
Being an urban person, the countryside was a passing sight when going on a charabang ride to the seaside ( back in the day). Fields of ripening corn went on forever then. Not the garish yellow of rape, but a mellow golden wheaty colour. ( like in ‘Frasier’s carpet – a whole new colour’). With a soughing breeze rippling across, giving the impression of a corn-coloured ocean, a wonderful sight. Now barely seen. I know the rape crop is good, it has to be or there would not be so many fields of .it across this land of England. And how any poppies set seed in these bright fields? They would clash so badly.
So, I mourn for the past and regret the future in some ways.
Be safe out in this world my friends. Be happy where you can.
Evelyn
evelynralph 