Carys Owen Poetry

This poem is a departure from my usual style. It was written for a prompt from dVerse Poetics : Write a poem that is a prequel to a particular character from a nursery rhyme, Aesop’s fable, book, or mythology. Be sure it’s clear in the poem, who you’re writing about.

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Fairy Dust

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I was once the most fabulous fairy in the land

with millions of followers on Instagram

and all the magic dust a girl could wish for

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I conjured myself fabulous gowns and

diamond encrusted slippers

fancy tiaras and shimmers for my wings

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Everyone told me how gorgeous I was

how they admired my sparkling beauty

and envied my perfect life

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But somehow I felt empty and alone

the more I posted, the less I smiled

all my friends were online…were they even real?

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Then one day I was flying around

~ to be honest I was showing off ~

when I heard someone weeping down below

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Something turned in me and I found myself

alighting by a sad young woman

sitting by a fireplace wearing ragged clothes

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For the first time in ages, I sat

and listened and found myself asking

‘How can I help?’

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The rest is history…

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By Carys Owen

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We take the ferry across

as sunlight bounces off the Tyne

looking back we see modern shapes

soften edges of decay

~ old docks resuscitated

once bursting with

fish boats and ship building

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Toward the river-mouth

we see lifeboats suspended

on cradles ready to go save

mariners in any tide or storm

small fishing fleets anchor

close to shore

and in North Shields

a harbour continues to

offer shelter and home

to trawlers, drifters

inshore seine-netters

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Corten steel sculptures

narrate the history

of these wharfs

~ a herring girl

holding the catch aloft

her knitting at her side

~ a fisherman at Fiddler’s Green

waiting for the souls of those

lost or wandering

he gazes out to sea in all weathers

growing a coat of rust

built of rain and tears

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Then back again past

the nets and cable drums

the crab traps and the

fishing floats, the smell

of diesel in the air

and fish and chip

shops getting ready

for the evening rush

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Aboard the ferry

bound for South Shields

as the vessel comes about

we notice the iconic

Herd Groyne Lighthouse

straddling the far distance

no longer needed for

it’s warning signals but

much loved as a sign

of welcome home

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By Carys Owen

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Written for a poetry prompt from dVerse Poetics: ‘City Love’.

Compared to my rural home on Vancouver Island,

North and South Shields in UK felt like cities to me.

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Barred owl sits on a tree

in broad daylight

noticing

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She tips her head to

allow her asymmetrical

hearing

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Feathers are ruffled

to warm her as she

waits

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She glides on hushed wings

and drops her gathered wisdom

in the snow

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By Cary Owen

Written for the prompt ‘Creatures of the blank page’ set by

Sundown Town

is a dark place

laced through with hate

offers safety

with strings attached ~

don’t be black

don’t be gay

don’t come from away

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The country twang

pretends honesty

delivers division

with tropes and lies.

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We all come from here

from Planet Earth

we all need to eat

to speak, to breathe

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We don’t want

your Sundown Town

named for slavery

and Jim Crow days

where black people

are s’posed to leave

before the sun

goes down

or else…

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By Carys Owen

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This poem is my response to a conversation I heard

on the CBC Radio show ‘Commotion’. Please check it out

through the link below (rather than searching ‘Sundown Town’

and giving more attention to an already contentious song and singer)

We dreamed of it for years

and then it came

bigger and better

than any imagining

wreathed in mist

and mystery

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Across the bridge

and on to Portree

we headed north

to greet the

Old Man of Storr

stoic on the hillside

and rambled through

the rugged land

of Quiraing

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We traced dinosaur footprints

big as dustbin lids

in Uig

picnicked in

the landslip of

the Fairy Glen

tasted the thrill of

cliff climbing at Elgol

and sighed as we lost the

Inaccessible Pinnacle

in a storm

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We feasted at

‘The Skye Pie Company’

gazed at Staffin Island

dreaming of fiddle tunes

took the single track

road to Neist Point

to stand in open-mouthed wonder

soaked our toes

in the Fairy Pools

and marvelled at the Cuillin

with their promise of forever

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We toasted it all

at Talisker

salt on our tongues

warmth in our hearts

with the grateful

melancholy of

day’s end and

time well spent

together

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By Carys Owen

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Silence lines up beside the turntable

waiting for her moment between songs

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Silence dives below the waves

to commune with octopuses

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Silence is the air cell

inside a robin’s egg

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Silence bakes herself into a cake

to spring out and mouth ‘surprise!’

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Silence waits in a corner, head in hands

while pots are thrown across the room

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Silence is blood cruising

the body in search of oxygen

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Silence lives at the end of a sentence

written in a sympathy card

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Silence is my dog running after

rabbits in her dreams

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Silence tastes of nothing in

the air between my lips

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By Carys Owen

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Written in conjunction with dVerse Poetics

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Green saturates

every sense

~ a miracle

in chlorophyll ~

suddenly here

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Leaves appear

in glorious iterations

emerald bursts

topped with

delicate petals

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Ferns folded

within folds

unravel with

geometric grace

to the tick of

dandelion clocks

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River races on

without sleep

washing new life

to the ocean

snow-chilled

and urgent

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And the birds

oh the birds

they sing

every daylight hour

staking claims

making love

guarding home

just because

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By Carys Owen

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Loosely related to the theme of nature,

my hymn to the late arrival of spring.

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You are the one

without a voice

without a pen

without a friend

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You are the one

without daylight

without a square meal

without peace

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We strain to hear

your words

spoken in hushed tones

chasing freedom

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We strain to hear

your name

so we may speak it

and bring you home

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By Carys Owen

This poem was written on the theme of ‘Uncaging the Poet’

Mindful of the many people who are imprisoned for speaking

their truth, I imagined the ones who receive no attention or

publicity . Thanks to Amnesty International and PEN who

work tirelessly to bring these writers, thinkers, loved-ones

home.

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Octopus pulls in treasures

from the ocean floor

shells, carapaces, coral

all to adorn her

patchwork façade

her undersea blanket fort

built from the inside out

designed to confound

the hunter and befuddle

the love rival

she hunkers down

like 27 Roman legionaries

in testudo formation

shields locked to

protect soft parts

sliding the last plate in place

she spies through a tiny gap

pinpointing her moment

to escape

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By Carys Owen

Inspired by the poetry prompt ‘animal architecture’

and this amazing creature

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Welcome to old friends

cedar, spruce, hemlock, fir

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Welcome to our families

deer, otters, marmots, geese

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Welcome to stealthy hunters

cougars, wolves, sea-lions, martens

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Welcome to the fisher-folk

herons, scoters, cormorants, grebes

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Welcome to the inter-tidal clan

sun stars, oysters, anemones, crabs

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Welcome to the deep sea divers

halibut, kelp, octopus, seals

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Welcome to the night-time crew

barred owls, bats, mice, raccoons

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Welcome to the pond dwellers

tadpoles, salamanders, dragonflies, toads

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Welcome to the budding plants

sword fern, skunk cabbage, fiddleheads, lilies

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Welcome to the forest lovers

woodpeckers, squirrels, lichen, moss

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Welcome to the ocean schools

dolphins, humpbacks, herring, eels

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Welcome to the gift-givers

thimbleberry, salmonberry, hazelnut, salal

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Welcome to the pollinators

wasps, bees, hummingbirds and humble flies

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Welcome to the tireless gardeners

earthworms, snails, robins, moles

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Welcome to the microscopic wonders

bacteria, plankton, microbes, nematodes

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Welcome to the earth enrichers

leaf litter, fungus, beetles, humus

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Welcome to the engineers

ravens, beavers, spiders, ants

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Welcome to the balladeers

loons, tree frogs, chickadees

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Welcome to the councillors

seagulls, crows, Pacific waves

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Welcome to the new arrivals

fawns, chicks, cubs, kits

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Welcome to the ancient ones

mountains, forests, ocean, rivers

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Welcome to our wild, wise elders

salmon, eagle, orca, bear

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Welcome to the human ones

with respect and gratitude to First Nations

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Welcome to the longer days

and shorter nights

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Welcome to the warming sun

and sustaining rain

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Welcome to a dawning season

where you can choose

to begin again

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WELCOME TO

A WILD  NEW  LIFE

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By Carys Owen

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Written for @wildwisesociety in honour of their

‘Wild New Life’ event on April 30th

at Willow Point Hall, Campbell River.

Everyone is welcome!

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