Poetry Train Monday - 99 - Smiles Saved For the Banquet

Here is my latest found poem. I've taken this from a writing exercise I did almost a decade ago, when I found a wonderful writers' group in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia.

We met at one another's homes, once a month. We would do writing exercises, and then share pieces of writing we'd been working on. I so enjoyed finding this group. They helped me stay sane when I'd moved from the Big City of Toronto to a fishing town of 8000.

This poem visits one of my favorite stories - the King Arthur/Guinevere/Launcelot love triangle.

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Smiles Saved For the Banquet


Arthur
Turned in the archway
His face shadowed
By the lowering sun

"It is said
You are often found weeping."

"By whom
My lord?"
Guinevere asked
Her tone flat

"By the court.
The servants.
By most,
In fact."

"It is a lonely time
For me, these
Wet months. It
Turns my mind
To my own home."

"So many years away.
It still brings tears?"
Arthur
Took a step into
The room, still feeling
The heavy distance
Between them.

"A woman's world
Is her home,
My lord.
I have no children
To comfort me
Here. My mind
Turns to those days
When I thought
A child was part of
My future. That
Is all."

"So you
Do weep
Then?"

"All women weep
Sire.
Especially
In our rooms
When we are left to
Ourselves.
We save our smiles
For the banquet
And the garden.
We allow our sighs
When we are
Private.
Tis of no
Consequence."

"It is to me,
Lady."
Arthur
Walked to his queen
And stood before her.
"I should like
To take you from
These shadows
If they wring such
Sorrow
From you."

- Julia Smith, 2009 / original piece written April, 2000

Painting: Queen Guinevere by William Morris

Michelle Johnson says I felt as though I was transported back in time.

Thomma Lyn says Wow. I love the Arthur / Guinevere dynamic.

Anthony North says Ah, so much of western cultural output comes from the Arthurian legends.

My Bucket List

I've seen a few of these lists roaming around the blogosphere and on Facebook. It's always fascinating to see what my friends have been up to. One of my blog friends was able to check off Visited a Nazi concentration camp on her list, one had Saved someone’s life, and one had Ridden on an elephant.

I've decided to really personalize this list, as most of the things on the roaming ones wouldn't truly be on my Bucket List. There are 100 items on two of the lists I've seen, and about 70 on the other. So I'll average it out and put 85 items on mine. This is a list of things that would have been on my list if I hadn't already done them, plus all the things I long to do.

Things I've done will be in bold.

1 - Sit in an audience watching a film and see Written and Directed by Julia Smith appear onscreen. (my fourth year student film - 27 minutes long and my heart pounded the entire time)

2 - Watch a King Arthur film that makes me weep with joy because it's so perfect.
(lots of almosts - still waiting for bliss)

3 - See the Northern Lights.

4 - Find out where my ancestors came from. (the Poitou region of western France)

5 - Own a black Jaguar XJ6. (currently have a monthly bus pass)

6 - Get replicas made of my original engagement and wedding rings. (they were lost when I moved back to Nova Scotia.)

7 - See Mikhail Baryshnikov dance live onstage. (1994!)

8 - Travel to Saint Petersburg, Russia.

9 - See the Faberge eggs in the Kremlin Armoury.

10 - See The Police in concert. (1982, Pine Knob, Michigan! Ghost in the Machine tour!)

11 - Create a Food Bank cook book. (This is an idea I've had for awhile. I think I'll brainstorm it in a future post.)

12 - Live in a Big City. (Toronto! Woo hoo! 1986 - 1999!)

13 - Watch a meteor shower.

14 - Become a bride.

15 - Go to the Romance Writers of America national conference to meet all of my blog friends face to face.

16 - See the Narnia books get made into films that make me weep with joy because it's so perfect.

17 - Have employee of The National Ballet of Canada on my pay stub.

18 - Visit Portmeirion in Wales, the location for The Village in The Prisoner.

19 - Promote win/win conflict resolution.

20 - Get a university degree. (Bachelor of Applied Arts - yes, BAA!)

21 - Eat fish and chips at a restaurant overlooking the sea.

22 - Visit the British Museum.

23 - Get paid for writing. (narration script for a television documentary)

24 - Go to my own book signing.

25 - Sing in a concert hall.

26 - Grow an heirloom shrub from a cutting I started. (A quince and a rambler rose)

27 - See a pod of whales in the ocean.

28 - Get the box set of The Prisoner. (Christmas present to us from Santa a few years ago.)

29 - Use a transporter to get home.

30 - Stumble upon the perfect book for writing research.

31 - See the Amber books get made into films that make me weep with joy because it's so perfect.

32 - Go to Victorian Week in Cape May, New Jersey and stay in a bed and breakfast.

33 - Go Christmas carolling door-to-door.

34 - Attend the Chelsea Flower Show in London.

35 - See the Lipizzaner stallions perform. (They came on tour to Halifax!)

36 - See the Lipizzaner stallions perform at the Spanish Riding School in Vienna.

37 - Sail on a tall ship. (The Mar)

38 - See the can-can performed at the Moulin Rouge in Paris.

39 - Have an incredibly intimate, emotionally uplifting relationship with my dog.

40 - Travel to Stockholm, Sweden.

41 - Watch the Musical Ride performed by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. (They came on tour to Halifax!)

42 - Watch a proper Dracula film that makes me weep with joy because it's so perfect.

43 - Go to Disneyworld. (Went with my family when I was 16. They were still building Epcot Center.)

44 - Go to a Broadway musical.

45 - Sing Carmina Burana by Carl Orff. (with my university choir)

46 - Travel to Copenhagen, Denmark.

47 - Discover new actors that inspire my muse. (Keeps happening! Thank heaven.)

48 - Dance naked in the rain.

49 - Own a sword.

50 - Go to a writers retreat.

51 - Identify the constellations.

52 - See a bluebird in nature.

53 - Hear someone say that something I wrote made them cry.

54 - Travel to Edinburgh, Glasgow and the Scottish Highlands.

55 - Go to mass at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.

56 - Sing Mozart's Requiem. (with my university choir)

57 - Visit the Old City of Jerusalem during Holy Week.

58 - Realize the most handsome, intelligent, funny, talented, compassionate man you've ever met has fallen in love with you. (I keep pinching myself, but I'm still awake!)

59 - Become a published poet.

60 - See the Malloren books get made into films that make me weep with joy because it's so perfect.

61 - Travel through England. I'd especially like to see the Arthurian sites. A lot of those are in Wales, actually.

62 - Become a permanent employee with benefits. (Squeee!! 10 months since that glorious day!)

63 - Visit Ottawa during the Tulip Festival.

64 - See Kimba the White Lion again. (I had longed to see Kimba again, ever since I'd watched it on TV in the late 60's. Brad special ordered video copies for me as a surprise gift as soon as they were available for purchase - Kimba was mysteriously unavaiable in any format when Disney released The Lion King and for several years afterwards.)

65 - Walk along the beach at sunset.

66 - Visit Venice during Carnival.

67 - See a lady slipper in the woods. (behind our house)

68 - Attend a Victorian Ball re-enactment event.

69 - See The Rockettes. (They were on tour in Toronto when I was there for a visit a few years ago! They performed at my old theatre, and my friend Jacquie got me a comp ticket to the dress rehearsal! I'd still like to see them at Radio City Music Hall.)

70 - Get The Ballet Ball poster from the Ballet Boutique. (I'd always loved that poster best, which was sold among other posters to raise funds for the purchase of new choreography for the National Ballet of Canada. But it was expensive, and I never bought it. On my last day of work at the theatre where the ballet performed, the woman at the boutique told me to pick whichever poster I wanted as a parting gift. Then - my friend Jacquie, one of the usher captains, brought the poster backstage. When she brought it back out, it was signed by the whole company!!)

71 - Work downtown. (I've worked in downtown Toronto and now I work in downtown Halifax.)

72 - Attend the Cannes Film Festival.

73 - Get swept away by an intoxicating story idea. (It happens over and over, thank heaven!)

74 - See the Saint Germain books get made into films that make me weep with joy because it's so perfect.

75 - Walk the red carpet on my way to the Oscars ceremony.

76 - Dance the night away.

77 - See all the great ballet companies perform in their home theatre venues all around the world.

78 - Raise money for child-centered organizations.

79 - Do the sword dance.

80 - Walk in the woods at night. (I don't find this spooky - I find it energizing and beautiful.)

81 - Get a second university degree.

82 - Swim in the sea.

83 - Attend a gallery showing of my mom's work. (Twice!)

84 - Visit the most beautiful rose gardens in the world.

85 - Have my heart filled every day with joy because my love loves me.


Nicholas says You're going to be doing a lot of weeping in cinemas!

Travis says I need to get my list down on paper.

VaBookworm says Let me know when you achieve #2... I'd like to know which film is worth watching lol