Leaving memories

artwork by Victoria Brown

Unfinished poems, 3

more poems from 

the Buxton Museum postcard project

as part of the Collection of the Artists project at Buxton Museum and Art Gallery, I have a set of postcards at different places round the exhibiton.  Each postcard has 2 lines as starting points for poems about aparticular aspects of the exhibiton and visitors are invited to complete the poem - and hand it in, or keep it for themselves - or send it to a friend.

Over the last few months, several sets of Unfinished Poems have been posted here....enjoy this latest set!

17. Limestone

artwork by Victoria Brown

Ancient waves on forgotten seas,

Left seaweed and shells on prehistoric sand,

St George’s mushrooms grow by rowan trees

And years have drawn their patterns on 

23. Limestone

Ancient waves on forgotten seas

Left seaweed and shells on prehistoric sand.

So too our lives ebb and flow

Leaving memories within our minds.

Will it be our thoughts survive

As fossils in a future heartland?

by Florian Barker

18. Stone Age tools

A hammer blow splits flint from stone,

A firebow wakes embers from the wood,

And as I walk alone

Through woods, grass and stone,

Memories keep flooding back

Of when I was lying in the sack

19. Stone Age Tools

A hammer blow splits flint from stone,

A firebow wakes embers from the wood,

A bear roars for his grub

A hunter looks desperately for a stone

and this is a vcave bear skull

20. Cave Lions

A bear in the darkness growls,

A lion watches from the cave,

A wolf in the distance howls,

A couple of owls having a rave

21. Cave Lions

A bear in the darkness growls,

A lion watches from the cave,

The wolf howls

The deer listens but is he brave

To wander in the forest alone?

22. Cave Lions

A bear in the darkness growls,

A lion watches from the cave,

And as the lion is on the prowl

He grabs a child which screams and howls

24. Coal measures

Giant dragonfly wings flutter,

Over the swamp of a tree-fern wood,

The newts and the frogs moan and mutter

In the space where the trees once stood.

25. Coal measures

Giant dragonfly wings flutter,

Over the swamp of a tree-fern wood,

The newts and the frogs moan and mutter

Where the amphibian stood.

26. The Buxton Mermaid

Travelling wonder, a sideshow delight

In fish and bone and monkey leather,

My path links the underground rivers and pools of the Peak,

I’m the mermaid of the heather

27. The Buxton Mermaid

Travelling wonder, a sideshow delight

In fish and bone and monkey leather,

This is a creature you must not miss,

Like modern mermaids, all artifice.

by Susan Crane

29 Caves.

I am a droplet

Hurtling down

The sun beams my rainbow

I hoop to the ground,

In a pocket of limestone

I shiver, freeze and thaw

And seep through the rock

Through the caves

To the core.

with many thanks to all our poets 

- more (un)finished poems will follow soon

artwork by Victoria Brown

lights in an ancient wood

Trees, stories and ancient stones

Plas Power Woods

29th October 2017

ready for stories

The evening began and ended with trees, with the glow of light on the leaves of Plas power Woods. There were stories, and fires, melting marshmallows and stars caught under the branches where the fish were swimming. There were wandering lines of lanterns and cheerful witches, occasional skeletons and lots of people well-wrapped against the cold. But the real beauties of the evening were the ancient woodlands of Plas Power

On the banks of the Clwyedog, these beech woods are wonderful places for events and it always a delight to come back and chill slowly to the bone over an evening. A lovely place to tell stories and an equally lovely place to receive stories from the trees and stones and the river itself

The regular team gathered again:

The Woodland Trust crew who hold it all together (thank you!)

Wilder Things: lanterns, a fire, hot apple juice and dripping marshmallows

And Creeping Toad for stories

This year

Mark was taking the photos, Esther was lighting trees and stories, Dan piped the groups through the woods with a beautiful husky wooden flute - and a team of Trust volunteers managed the 200 visitors, keeping them safe and moving on the dark trail through the woods

And we had a wonderful company of cheerful adventurers, slipping between the trees, enjoying the shadows and the lights and the rippling of the stream in a cold, clear night. What more could a Storytelling Toad ask of an evening?

Thank you all!