The snow is sifting down and through the pane
above my desk the children's artwork frames,
I look out at the rough half timbered wall,
the wattle and the daub of the Spital.
The poor man's wall it once was called; today
we look towards its sustainability.
It's stood these many centuries aloof
as ruddy tiles have clattered from its roof
where, scalloped with the down of falling snow,
its gutter runs along beneath its brow.
The daub, like hardened pottery, remains;
straw, moss, dung, leaves and soil it contains
and through another winter will endure,
awaiting restoration and succor.
Author notes
German translation Spital = Hospital
This building technique, which was used for centuries but went out of fashion with the advent of modern materials, is now being resurrected in some areas as sustainable & environmentally friendly.
About the form: The Vaughanet makes use of some near or half rhyme; its main innovation is that the heroic couplet follows the first stanza.
In a list
A contest entry
- Modern Sonnet by sheltered.
700 points, ended January 18, 9 entries
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
Comments
1 - 8 of 8
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Very well done. Old buildingd do have a dignity.
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i get it now
the alcohol had my mind on a different tangent -
most magicak
a snaoshot into your workd thankyou my friend
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They have remarkable tenacity, these stuctures of dung, rock and wood. I can see them holding out another 1000 years with proper care.
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big words
but what?
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It's actually an interesting building technique: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wattle_and_daub
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Oh, lovely, truly a spellbinder for winter's tricks on us. Everything with snow on it looks new.
Just returned from 9 days in the snow and it was enlightening and enchanting, mixing the old with the new. 
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I will be adding a picture of this later today, after I get them developed.
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