Mag 83
The Snake Charmer, Henri Rousseau, 1907
Photograph courtesy of Tess Kinkaid, Magpie Tales
The far pavilions
Shrouded in a swirling mist
The dawn seeps through
The steam from
The River Ganga
On the banks
A figure stands alone
A been held in hand
Ready to charm
With magical rhythms
Nomad of Sapera
Playing notes that mesmerize
Bring forth the
Serpents from within
Sleepy lazily slithering
Barbara M Lake ©
Trinidad WI
September 2011
A footnote:
I saw my fist snake charmer when I was a six year old in Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka which was then Ceylon.
oh nicely done! I've been so busy this summer I lost track of all my blogger buddies- good to hear from you and to read your fine poetry!
ReplyDeleteI am so behind this week on my poetry reading. Yours is the first. Got to get busy.
ReplyDeleteVery good as usual.
Lovely reading; your memory come to life.
ReplyDeleteInteresting view of a snake charmer. The River Ganga presumably is the Ganges? So this Charmer is not the one you remembered as a 6 year old?
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing.
This has such an exotic feel and is perfect for the photo. It must have been fascinating to see a snake charmer at such a young age.
ReplyDeleteNice to see you here Kath W - welcome back!
ReplyDeleteMe too Jacqui - thank you.
Thank you Annie
Ganga is the Hindi for Ganges and no this snake charmer (Sapera) is not the one of my childhood. That was on a street in Colombo when our ship (SS Chusan) docked on its way to Singapore. In fact I had just turned 5.
Thank you LadyCat - I do remember the scene vividly and think that was the start of my fascination of all things pertaining to that part of the world. I'm not as enthralled now as I once was.
Thank you Suz - nice to see you too
i remember seeing my first and fidning it fascinating...a bit of magic...you capture a bit of that in your words...nicely done..
ReplyDeleteEvocative write, Bee...slithers...shivers!
ReplyDeleteI wish I had seen a snake charmer as a kid, although, it's still pretty fascinating to see.
ReplyDeleteA terrific write.
I can almost hear his flute! :)
ReplyDeleteNever seen one myself but can imagine it after reading your mesmerizing poem.
ReplyDeleteLovely poem, Bee! Very evocative and I like the Indian slant you have given the picture.
ReplyDeleteThank you Brian - I think seeing your first stays with one forever.
ReplyDeleteTess, shivers always from me when I think of snakes
Thank you thingy - had you seen one the memory would have stayed with you for life
I hope so Betsy
lolamouse so nice of you to say so
Thank you Nicholas - I wanted to bring out the Indian side and feel I could have made more of it had I spent more time on it