Monday, July 6, 2015

Repeat of a Summer Poem!

   
     Now that the temperatures have dropped back to the seasonal 90-degree range ( 30 for the Celsius world ), we can enjoy Summer in the Midlands.

     Today I repost something from Places and Times, that was inspired by a trip my wife and I took to a local historical site. James Bonham' birthplace has been restored. He was a boyhood friend of another Saluda County (then actually Edgefield County) native, William Travis. Years later they reconnected in Texas. Travis relied on Bonham as one of his couriers at the Alamo. Bonham actually returned with Sam Houston's final message that no assistance was coming. Speculation is that Bonham returned personally to bring the bad news to his friend even if it meant sharing his fate.

    This was a poem I read in Charleston last week, and will most likely read it in Columbia later this week. I will include some another picture from scenic Saluda County, and also links to the historical site.

     The Languor of a Summer Afternoon- Bonham Homestead

The languor of a summer afternoon,
a glimpse into hazy eternity:
sun striking even into shaded roads
extending slowly away from the lake,
ending either at shore or in the woods;
a sense of completion or finality,
depending on your perspective or mood
framed by white clouds and deeply-blue sky.
Time enough to seek a dogtrot homestead
restored to rustic grace along old road,
or meander a spider’s web of lanes
half-hidden behind scenery flashing
by as we accelerate though our lives,
yearning to slow the pace as we hurry.

Arthur Turfa, © 2015


http://www.nationalregister.sc.gov/saluda/S10817741001/

http://saludacountyhistoricalsociety.org/alamo-bonham-house.html




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