healingwords: poetry for the soul

I have used a similar image of the Riu Bullent running through the Marjal near Pego for another poem, however on seeing it again different words came to me. During this crisis between the new routine of another day in this strange, isolated life and the trembling fear of ill health I am fortunate at times to find moments of stillness. The peace of being lost in writing, rediscovering music, reading poetry, listening to Shakespeare's sonnets, looking out over the hills when the clouds lift all bring me calm. I hope you can find a place of peace where for a time our minds can rest. 

This stunning mountain man looks down over the Vall de Pop from the rock face Peña Roja near the village of Lliber. It is a popular place for climbers and I watched a number creeping up the rock. It was a peaceful morning, the river still flowing after recent rains, the air filled with bird song. Further up the valley cars threaded the roads and walkers filled the caminos and village streets as the almond blossom attracted the yearly visitors.  © 2020 Jacqueline Knight Cotterill.  All rights reserved.  

These snake like roots were wriggling across stones in the river bed at the Barranc de L'Encanta near Planes. It was shocking to see the height of debris deposited in trees and shrubs around the river. At some points they were over my head and showed the extent of flooding of the barranc in the recent storms. Some trees had been uprooted, reeds flattened and vegetation scattered from the barranc, over the roadway into adjoining terraces.  © 2020 Jacqueline Knight Cotterill.  All rights reserved.  

The Riu Bullent as it flows past the Muntanyeta in the Marjal in Pego. This river system links to the canals that feed the rice paddies in the Marjal. It was close to flooding after the recent storms but was back to its tranquil flow this week.  © 2020 Jacqueline Knight Cotterill.  All rights reserved

The branches of this beautiful tree were hanging over the banks of the River Boyne in Navan, Ireland. The river side was overgrown with fern and wide leafed plants that looked like verdant swamps with willows weeping over the water. The intricate knot tied around the trunk reminded me of the Celtic symbols on imagery and jewellry seen in Ireland, Scotland and Wales, even used as an image of love on wedding rings.  © 2019 Jacqueline Knight Cotterill.  All rights reserved.  

Now in Wales I am lightened by the company of old friends and the familiarity of the landscape. I spent many family holidays in this area, swapping the streets of Coventry for the rivers, hills and trees of mid Wales. We paddled in brooks, walked in the rain and loved the wind and freedom of the high hills. As I stood washing the stream, brim full with recent rains, I felt my mind ease as my worries floated away downstream.  © 2019 Jacqueline Knight Cotterill.  All rights reserved.  

At this time of year the fierce summer heat dries all the surrounding landscape. The spring flowers and waist high grasses wither into a brown, dusty crisp, the hillside pines an ominous green shadow carrying the menace of sudden fire. The holidaymakers enjoy the sun, sea, pools and Spanish welcome. My northern blood screams with exhaustion after the first few weeks of intense heat and I start to long for the cool, for rivers, woods and mountain lakes, for wild seas, for the green that only refreshing rain can bring. Then I dream of water.  TO DREAM OF WATER Levante damned by drought, bleached stones like Dover chalk exposed in dried up beds awaiting Autumn’s torrents; husks of scorched plant life, death grey, crunch underfoot, hillsides a spark away from flame, an exile dreams of water. Licking lips moist from mizzle, toddler boots stomping, splashing; breath holding cold of paddling feet, toes sinking in squelching sand; slipping in moss co...