I wrote my poem Beyond the Ridge for Sadje’s What do you see # 227
Beyond the Ridge
Beyond the mighty, moonlit, misty ridge,
In the mystery of a woodpecker’s wood
on the parapet of the humpback bridge
A mad hatter stood.
His gaze surveyed the land.
Where was his palace?
And where was Alice?
He held a poem book in hand.
(‘Twas The Raven by Poe)
A coal-black bird flutters out to flee away in freedom fly,
Was it a rook?
No.
It was the raven.
Where did it go?
To join the others at Newhaven in the grey penumbral sky.
The mad hatter watched the birds in flight,
Flocks of rook, raven, jackdaw and crow.
He watched them fly away till out of sight.
He watched them go.
All was calm and still, on the humpback bridge,
A place for tranquil balm… and the midge.
The mad hatter cast his eyes
Where danced a show of fairy fireflies.
Amidst it all,
Sounds the ratchet natter of the natterjack call,
and the swish and hush of marsh grass sighs.
He glanced down at the languid stream
in gentle flow
Was it real or just a dream?
~
Lesley Scoble, March 2024
Listen to the ratchet natter of the natterjack call
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Thank you as always, Sadje for your weekly image prompts.
Image credit: Darksouls 1@ Pixabay
My thanks to Archive resource for the audio of the call of the natterjack toad.
Lesley lives in the City of London Square Mile. An artist, actor and sculptor (her first ceramic sculpture won the V&A inspired by… Award). Scenic artist & book illustrator, playwright (her musical play, Rapscallion performed in inner city schools and theatre school); TV dancer; Animator and illustrator for TV production. Set up Pinecone Studios Ltd and IIMSI Ltd drama and filmmaking workshops in London – producing award-winning films made by children.
LesleyScoble.com 
25 responses to “Beyond the Ridge: a free verse poem”
Fantastic poem! I enjoyed the bits of alliteration, and the narrative.
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Wow, thank you so much, Nicole! 🙏💕😊 xx
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Ooo, Lesley, this is mysterious and dreamlike. The stuff of fairy tales and it drew me right into the picture.
This line amused me. ‘ A place for tranquil balm… and the midge.’ We’d need a load of balm when the midgies are around, especially the Scottish ones which wear big tackety boots! I hope you intended that to be funny. I’m guessing, with your sense of humour, you did.
I truly enjoyed this poem.
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Thank you so very much, Willa! I love your imagery of your midges wearing tacky boots! (I’ll put that in next time 😁)
I’m very glad you enjoyed the poem. It is a humorous line 😁 So happy you appreciate it. ❤️
Look after your midges.
[Midges are precious insects and in decline. Scotland needs to protect them as they are disappearing in Northern Ireland]
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I didn’t know they were disappearing in Ireland! I wonder if they’re still as profuse in Scotland. It’s a long time since I lived there. The reason for the image of them wearing tacky boots is because the Scottish midgies (that’s what we call them 😀) are much more aggressive than the English ones.
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Hoots mon!
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I’ve never heard a Scottish person say that ever. 😁
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😂 Hoots mon the noo!
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A gathering of corvid. I love the Poe reference and the magic/dream like story. Newhaven – death reference?
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Thanks so much, Paul. 🙏
I put Newhaven in to rhyme with the raven word. 😉 Don’t tell anybody.
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What do you use to post audio?
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I go to blocks and click on an audio block and then paste the URL in / or import an audio mp3 file. I love sound more than pictures sometimes. 😊💕
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Does this help? xxx
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Where do you upload your mp3 files, though? Like what platform do you use to do that? Do you do it on your phone? That’s what I am wondering.😁
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I use various sources. Sometimes my own. Other times I use https://www.freesoundslibrary.com/ where you download mp3 files and save them where you want. 😊
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I edit in Bandlab
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…or Adobe Audition
Bandlab is free
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You can get Bandlab on your phone. I use my iPad.
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A terrific poem. I love Alice and have eight different copies. Poe is also a favourite although I like The Sleeper best.
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Oh, thank you, Robbie! 😊💕
I LOVE Poe! 🖤
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🪻💚
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This is great, Lesley! The words just seem to flow so easily for you. 🩶
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Thank you dear Nancy🙏😊❤️
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Most welcome! 🤗
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🙏😊💕🪿
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