While doing some research, I was frustrated by absense of literature on this region. The old books have all but vanished and it struck me that modern records are hopelessly fragile compared to fossils and san rock art. Wally

The Great Karoo is a vast semi desert region covering much of the area north of the Cape coastal fold mountains of South Africa. The Camdeboo lies in the eartern corner of this arid land. Steeped in history and legend, rich in fossils and ancient rock art it is one of the most beautiful and diverse natural treasures in the world.

The name Camdeboo has evolved from a phonetically similar Khoi word meaning "green hollow". The area was described by Hendrik Swellengrebel in 1776 as a triangular piece of land bounded on the north by the escarpment, on the south by stoney, tree-covered hills, the base near Aberdeen and the apex at Bruintjieshoogte, where there is still a farm named 'Slot van Camdeboo'. Cacadu is an isiXhosa name meaning "semi-arid and mountainous". Because of the clicking sound, it reflects the indigenous people who live in the area, who happen to be Xhosa and the Khoisan.


"Few people have the good fortune to be born in a desert. I was. All my life I have been conscious of my luck. Not, indeed, that we of the Karoo often think of our land as desert. It is the travellers who have crossed our plateau for two hundred years, and our visitors of today, who have called it this- and still do. Eve Palmer, "The Plaines of Camdeboo"

Hello!

I loved reading this poem, as well as the explanation and quote at the end..the wording is just wonderful and it tells a story as well as giving some beautiful images.

My only small suggestion (and feel free to ignore) would be maybe to use "the" instead of "those" in the first line...it seems (and this could be just me) to read easier that way? Also maybe to put a question mark after that line and turn the next, "An Eden gone" into a new sentence.

Love the word "unremembered" as opposed to "forgotten"..really powerful

And I adore these lines

'Tis here those plains whose spirit was,

once lost to time,

yet found embedded in,

upon and of the weathered stone

that lives beneath an ancient sun

This is such a beautiful poem..I really enjoyed reading it:)

Hi Wally,

Quite exotic and romantic to my mind. Quite beautiful!!!

The sentence of the last stanza is so complex in structure that I can't tell if the structure is correct, but I can tell that the first stanza is sound and punctuated correctly as far as I can see.

I will be back to read more times.

Peggy

Hi Wally!

Simply beautiful. Somehow, I feel it has rhythm/form and should be over in R&F.
There's some sort of cadence hidden there, IMHO.

As I have to go out, I shall return and make one or two minor suggestions, after having studied your explanation properly. This deserves full attention! (I always seem to have to rush out when I spot a gem!!).

Hugs, Syl***

Wally, Wonderful read, I am glad your desert inspires you.
Steve

Hi Wally,


No need for explainations behind the poem.

The poems reads like silk.

So much so I reached for my complete verse of Yeats.


Yeats, had a definite pattern in most of his poems.

The last few lines.

The poem.

Lines Written in Dejection.


I have nothing but the embittered sun;
Banished heroic mother moon and vanished,
And now that I have come to fifty years
I must endure the timid sun.

Now your poem


Legacy in stone


Where are those unremembered plains,

an Eden gone

along with dusty tales,

in mouldy pages left unbound

words, scattered by that tireless wind,

a wind that since the Earth began has blown

across the Great Karoo?


'Tis here those plains whose spirit was,

once lost to time,

yet found embedded in,

upon and of the weathered stone

that lives beneath an ancient sun

the very sun whose warmth created life

upon the Camdeboo.


A wonderful enjoyable poem, Wally.


I can't fault anything, than, perhaps the rhyme in the stanza's.


Once again Wally. Ten out of ten.


Exceptional quality.

John.

Hi Wally,

I really enjoyed this poem - it is an educational/inspiration to The Great Karoo and of course, the "green hollow".

Thanks for sharing this with us - no nits here!

~Cleo

Thank you all for those appreciated comments. I eventually managed to find a copy of Eve Palmers book which I am presently reading and the stories are really facinating, especially the fossil links to early man and the the masses of stone age artifacts found here. It makes one feel humbled by the history of this place. Truly the cradle of mankind.
Hugs, Wally

PS, I will be scarse for the next few weeks but will pop in from time to time. Happy Christmas

[marquee]HAPPY CHRISTMAS WALLY [/marquee]

I've resurected this poem Wally.

It's Too good to let it slide off into the drainage system.


Legacy in stone


Where are those unremembered plains,

an Eden gone

along with dusty tales,

in mouldy pages left unbound

words, scattered by that tireless wind,

a wind that since the Earth began has blown

across the Great Karoo?


'Tis here those plains whose spirit was,

once lost to time,

yet found embedded in,

upon and of the weathered stone

that lives beneath an ancient sun

the very sun whose warmth created life

upon the Camdeboo.


The beat throughout the lines is a delight.


Sheer enjoyment.



John

Such a beautiful poem! I was inspired by the grandeur of those two stanzas to find some information about the Karoo,
(I am ashamed to say that I knew nothing of its glories.) I can imagine that past history, "in mouldy pages left unbound, words scattered by that tireless wind,"
A land full of mysteries, and possibilities.

Hello Wally,

This is a really good piece. I like the sound of the names, (Camdeboo, Karoo), wow!

This made me think of (Gene Randels) an old friend who died in 1989.

He wrote these lines in a poem.

I found an unglazed pot one day
with strange designs pressed in the clay
and when I raised it from the sand
I think I touched the potter's hand.

The description added much. It made we want to visit those interesting places.
I ranched in the high (7800 feet) desert most of my life. I am now working for a few days in the Sonora desert in Arizona.

Deserts look desolate until one looks a little closer.

Great work. No nits here.

Vess