A river of emotion (a poem)

John Atkinson Grimshaw 1878:
The Lady of Shalott














A River of Emotion


She sleeps on a floating river
drifting beneath her

body supine
undulating on a silky wave

of feeling nothing more
than the water's flow

passing beneath
her weightless body

endlessly drifting
into eternal release

a sea of emotions
crowding up against

wisps of memory lapping
gently at her fingertips

tracing memory's path
leaving not a trace

of time passing
on the river of emotion

where she lays sleeping.

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A Note on the Poem


As I was reading Maureen's Saturday Sharing (My finds are yours) column this morning, the title of a book she mentions triggered an image of John Wodehouse's painting depicting Alfred Lord Tennyson's epic poem, The Lady of Shalott.


From that image, a line drifted through my mind with the effortless ease of water flowing in a river.


...and from that line, the poem took form...


Thanks Maureen for the inspiration! It was fun -- and yes, you're right, that isn't Wodehouse's Lady of Shalott -- while one of my favourites, Grimshaw's painting is actually the one that triggered my muse to awaken.

So... here's the invitation. Check out Maureen's blog today and see if you can identify the muse's inspiration.