Butterbur

an epithalamium

Many people who were here before
have gone. Their place name
remains. It is Kilchoman.
Kilchoman, I say, under my breath,
I familiarise myself with where
to place the stress. Will this word
bloom on my tongue
like the butterburs below?

…. the pink warmth
of their moment
their sighting
on the strip between
car and beach

…. the sheer surprise
of their presence
brought smiles and
quiet joy, a presence
to withstand

the wind, a heart’s
sunrise of hope. there,
hard up against
the ocean crash

in our new found north

our new found north
opens wide as the gash
of her mouth she bites
avid for life as Eve
into her moment

astounding excrudescences
pushing up their pinkness
out of grey granular bareness
those punks ‘petasites vulgaris’
came on to me, irresistible
prodding and probing that
harsh terrain until all the
membranes gave …… and we had rain

Butterbur, I whisper, under my breath.
familiarise myself with where
to place the stress. Will this word
bloom on my tongue

and become a bouquet?
a bride’s bouquet ….
in this place
in this time
a whole new season
sprouts forth    shouts
‘i am in the pink
i am in the pink’

the whole length of a stem
a celebration

 

Kilchoman, Machir Bay, Islay
early March 2012

By Leni Dipple

Leni Dipple has presented her poetry in a variety of contexts and places. A graduate in Portuguese and Brazilian studies with French (King´s College, London) she has taken part in the Casa dos Poetas festivals in Silves, Portugal, as well as founding the Au Pas des Troubadours events in south west France.

Since moving to south west France she hosts `wwoofers´ (wwoof.fr) from all parts of the globe who come to learn about organic horticulture. In 2011 she presented a paper at the IFOAM Congress in South Korea on the role of the poet in organic agriculture and will be attending the next Congress this year in Istanbul.

Between Rivers is her first full volume of poetry. This collection can be purchased here.