Granny's Bread. (Sestina).
In childhood, as granny pummelled dough,
I used to play in sun's dust-moted ray
While she would ask me, " do a dance for me?"
Then I would gather dreams from near and far
And twirl around because she loved me. So
I felt as if her home was Shangri-la.
My granny's house was always Shangri-la
On those warm Sundays, while she made bread dough
For farmer's sons, who'd eat a loaf or so
Each day, while watching weather for sun ray
or rain, that in this climate ne'er was far.
It never mattered either way to me.
She'd sing a verse or two and then ask me
To do my party piece in Shangri-la.
These memories now seem so very far
Since granny lilted while she proved the dough.
Then as we'd wait, we'd walk in sun's last ray
Across the meadows, then she's hug me so
I'd know we had a bond. I loved her so.
Then back again, just letting me be me,
She'd take the dough and put it in the "Ray"
To cook the loaves that scented Shangri-la,
That new-bread smell that wafted from the dough
Which drew her friends and neighbours, near and far.
The cousins and the uncles lived quite far.
They walked there,all a-suited,looked just-so.
For Sunday evenings and the smell of dough
Brought promises that cheered both them and me.
All sang and danced and drank in Shangri-la
Until the mountains let through dawn's first ray.
When granny'd take more bread out of the "Ray"
To feed the ones who had to walk so far,
To see them on their way from Shangri-la.
My family would also go and so
Gran 'd put some sugar on some bread for me
So I'd not cry, and miss that smell of dough.
To see the sun's ray or to smell some dough,
My dreams still stretch far, bring all back to me,
I find Shangri-la, and it comforts so...
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Posted: Apr 2019
About this poem:
Sestina
A complex French verse form, usually unrhymed, consisting of six stanzas of six lines each and a three-line envoy. The end words of the first stanza are repeated in a different order as end words in each of the subsequent five stanzas; the closing envoy contains all six words, two per line, placed in the middle and at the end of the three lines. The patterns of word repetition are as follows, with each number representing the final word of a line, and each row of numbers representing a stanza:
1 2 3 4 5 6
6 1 5 2 4 3
3 6 4 1 2 5
5 3 2 6 1 4
4 5 1 3 6 2
2 4 6 5 3 1
(6 2) (1 4) (5 3)
I decided to link the end words as versions of the words for musical notes, or words that sounded like them.
Comments (8)