Thoughts – Page 7 – Forgotten Fields

18 April 2020 | Forgotten Fields

I officially started developing the “Shepherd Girl” poetic sketch today. The original draft consisted of several rough stanzas that outlined the substance of the poem—ideas and rhymes not fully formed, which I put in a coherent order a few days ago. From these, I have now extracted three promising stanzas, the framework of the poem. At its heart, “Shepherd Girl” is a glimpse into my mother’s childhood, wrestling beauty from the harsh realities of her youth (gleaned from many a tale in bittersweet nostalgia).

Poetry Publication Progress (2020-04-18)

Image | 18 April 202018 April 2020 | Forgotten Fields

A Springbok, 17 April 2020. Copyright 2020 Forgotten Fields. All rights reserved.

I was surprised to spot a Springbok (Antidorcas marsupialis) yesterday, my first sighting of the antelope in the wild. (“Springbok” is Afrikaans for “jump-buck”, pronounced with a trilled “R”, “i” like the “a” in “about” and the “o” in “orange”.)

Image | 11 April 202013 April 2020 | Forgotten Fields

Bar-throated Apalis Male, 10 May 2017. Copyright 2017 Forgotten Fields. All rights reserved.

In 2017, as I began to take an interest in birdwatching, I photographed what at the time I believed to be a Cape Batis male for its black breast band. Today, I discovered by accident (whilst attempting to identify another bird) that it was, in fact, a Bar-throated Apalis (Apalis thoracica). I see now the magnitude of my error, but betwixt the African Stonechat (below, left¹), the Cape Batis (below, right¹) and the Bar-throated Apalis (below, centre), is it any wonder an amateur would be just a little confused!

Pairs: female left, male right.