Rowland Hilder trees
pepper the landscape
and last week’s snow drifts
still lie in the shade
of the drystone walls
of the Yorkshire Dales
Farmers bring out feed
for the hungry sheep
kids complain now schools
have reopened
but coming Christmas
buzz is in the air
Householders spaff light
in competition
to claim the prize for
showiest display
of unnecessary
Xmas symbolism
and “Once upon a
midnight clear” is lost
to light pollution
and so for Twelve Days
each village will glow
with Christmas fever…
How should we weigh up
cultural tradition
against the cost to
the environment
– consumerism
out of all control
Let’s strip it all back
to the heart of things
remember that love
is of the essence
and all we need to
light up our landscape…
© Andrew Wilson, 2025
Over at dVerse Poets Pub, Laura Bloomsbury in Meeting the Bar: Critique and Craft, invites us to paint a poetic tableau using a fixed poetry style entitled The Tableau – created by Emily Romano in October of 2008
Poetry Style:
5 beats/syllables per line
1 or more verses
6 lines per verse