Hello, Poetry Friend
Welcome back to my occasional series, poeming my way through my heart book, Sigrid Undset’s Kristin Lavransdatter.
The scene at sunset, on the hill above Husaby, is so lovely, and its poignancy doesn’t become apparent until later. But I think it was the first time in the story I noticed the convergence of red and gold.
“She had never before seen the sky so red and gold.”
After that, I noticed it everywhere. From the beginning to the end of the book. It’s not the only symbol deployed throughout, but it’s one of the most potent.
Here’s my red and gold poem, in Kristin’s voice.
My life is ringed in red and gold
Good Saint Olav, who brought us Christ,
a gold crown and a curly red beard
Father’s horse, the huge red stallion,
with a golden-white forelock
I picked red valerian, made a wreath
the elf-maiden flaxen-haired, covered in jewels
Beside Brother Edvin, my hands were red, as if dipped in wine
His own face gilded from the glow of holy men
Erlend came to my rescue with a gold sword
and a white shield with a leaping red lion
The song the Dane sang at our first dance
Yes, I wore that “golden crown so red”
On my wedding day, a gilded crown
a scarlet wedding gown over a yellow shift
And my ring –
gold with rubies on either side
Father gifted me a fair horse with red-gold rings
sired by a stallion from under the mountain
I knelt down and gave birth to my firstborn
under a red-gold sky
I made my boys homespun tunics
dyed in yellow lichen, trimmed with red ribbon
I made them crowns from red marshlocks
with mead-golden centers
That woman, Sunniva –
her hair was red, but everyone called it golden
The night they took Erlend away from Husaby
the sky stretched red and gold, a bird winging away
– Megan Willome
Happy poeming!
Megan
That bird flying away! #poemsabouttroubles