harvest – CleanWIP Magazine

Today’s #CleanWIP theme and collaborative article is Harvest. [More info]

Use the #CleanWIP hashtag with lines from a WIP and your tweet might be included in a https://t.co/yUHUbxZp23 collaboration for authors who lean clean and readers who love them. The #CleanWIP theme for Thursday, April 9 is HARVEST. pic.twitter.com/q8yVfepuVT
— CleanWIP Magazine (@cleanwip) April 9, 2020

Pledge of Allegiance Postcard
by CleanWIP

“Who did you leave behind?”
“The blacksmith.”
“Your husband?”
“He will be, if—. He will be. We’ll be married at the end of #harvest.”
“We’ll find him.”
She nodded and picked up her pace. “He’s too thick headed and stubborn to die.”#cleanWIP #vss365
— ML Farb (@FarbMl) April 8, 2020

The #CleanWIP themes of dance and harvest brought to mind the poem Harvest Ball by M. L. Farb. ~ https://t.co/Op9BO29r7J ~ #determination #love #marriage #poems #poetry pic.twitter.com/PFKNqBRCtT
— Earl Chinnici (@earlshelpdesk) April 9, 2020

By M. L. Farb

(Photo credit: Allef Vinicius)

I started writing poetry in college, when I took a one-week graduate-level poetry course. I ate, drank, and slept poetry. It seeped into my blood and still pumps through me, impacting all my writing.

My favorite lesson from the poetry course was: Poetry is a snapshot of life. Capture the senses and emotions of a moment.

The following poem is still a work in progress, capturing a moment in my early-married life.

Harvest Ball

New parents with six-week-old baby in tow,
we trudge through snow to the harvest ball.

Exhaustion from baby nursing nights
and intense school days
melts under music.

We jive and spin to the
rich brass call of Sing, Sing, Sing.

I float in his arms as we
trace the steps of Strauss’ Vienna Waltz.

We laugh our way through fast songs.
He has natural rhythm and style.
I follow in stumbling imitation.
Walk like an Egyptian and Cotton Eye Joe

I lay my head on his shoulder
to the gentle swaying of Lady in Red.

Our baby watches from her car seat,
then begs to join.
We dance, her nestled between us,
until she falls asleep.

A limbo line starts.
I try my luck and startle to find that
pregnancy limbered my joints.
I skim under the stick at waist height.
He cheers me on.

We return to our dancing.
Two become one in music and movement.

Hours later we return home,
the dance making our steps light over snow
and our hearts ready for the coming struggles.

Connect with the author: M. L. Farb

Website/Blog: https://mlfarbauthor.wordpress.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MLFarbAuthor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/FarbMl
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/M-L-Farb/e/B07TKYDNHD

CleanWIP Magazine has obtained from the author non-exclusive right to publish or republish this content. The author retains copyright.

The CleanWIP Experience

We work closely with published authors and writers who are aspiring to be published as well as other creative people such as artists, poets, bloggers, and songwriters in our CleanWIP collaboration group for authors (et al) and via the #CleanWIP hashtag to bring readers interesting sneak peeks into their works-in-progress and published books plus full-featured articles, personal reflections on the thoughts and struggles from a rough draft to a published work, and special collaborations on various topics.

We encourage writers who market their work as clean to use the #CleanWIP hashtag on any social platform to share sneak peeks related to the day’s theme from unpublished works. We also encourage use of the hashtag for a single relevant release day announcement. On Fridays, we relax the structure even further and encourage using #CleanWIP to share relevant news, interesting teases from a work-in-progress or published work (purchase links encouraged on Fridays), or something else our readers might love. Actual use of the hashtag is not within our control and even on this site we will sometimes share #CleanWIP content that doesn’t strictly meet these guidelines.