A Poem a Day (632): NaPoWriMo Day 5 - The clover, the horseshoe and the sixpence

 
NaPoWriMo Day 5

Prompt: start by taking a look at Alicia Ostriker’s poem, The Blessing of the Old Woman, the Tulip, and the Dog. Now try your hand at writing your own poem about how a pair or trio of very different things would perceive of a blessing or, alternatively, how these very different things would think of something else (luck, grief, happiness, etc).

 
The clover, the horseshoe and the sixpence
 
We speak of luck,
the plucking of a four-leaf clover.
You button it in a pocket,
a ticket for you to travel light,
transported by fevered wanderlust
in the belief it guards you like a sword,
or press it between the pages of a book,
nightly read by the invisible hand
of providence, tucking it in
for the longest night.
 
We speak of luck,
a hard, metal version of U,
nailed to the wood of the front door
to sprinkle hope on the heads of visitors,
careful lest a bad day sees it swing down.
You tie flowers, a pink ribbon all around
to jazz it up, soften its heavy gravity,
yet it is so bold, steely and strong
that it will always see you through
to the bitter end.
 
We speak of luck,
a piece of silver to grace your hand.
Feel its weight, make a pact with it,
wander into the sunstrip meadow it depicts
with green shamrock, thistle and rose,
and read the message it endows:
the Defender of the Faith.
So even when the black nimbus brew
and the fiercest torrent gasps,
you can still walk the line that’s true.

Copyright Vickie Johnstone, April 5, 2024