That's the Scottish poet Kathleen Jamie, in 2008, memorably assailing the stereotypical English nature writer. I wonder if he has ever recovered. Does he hobble over the hill now, a bit sheepishly? That tourist, she depicts him, who struts into the country, pen drawn, ready to "discover" the wilderness, to tame it with his "civilized lyrical words."
Artist
2 years
at the start of 2022,
i became enamored by nature.
talking small with trees.
birdwatching at stoplights.
listening to gardening podcasts.
devouring nature writing,
including this book, which has
a moving passage on birds' nests
that greatly inspired this verse.
finished writing, got busy, didn’t record it.
felt like i needed to wait for the right moment,
feel the right feeling for me to revisit it.
~
auditioned for a musical at my university.
didn’t get in. ended up on backstage crew.
met this girl. one of the lead actresses.
heard her sing. handed her props. fell.
closing night, before the show,
a cast member gave everyone flowers.
after the show, i handed her mine, and left.
drove straight home, and recorded this.
first take, only take.
it’s not that deep,
as deep as building a home for her.
just another case of a crush forlorn.
for what it’s worth though,
this one’s hers.
Artist
2 years
Artist
2 years
Artist
2 years
Artist
2 years
