mourning dove North Carolina Poetry Society

A Special Dedication

To One Who Gave So Much

Weymouth is Real ©
by Sam McKay

From the gray guards at the gate,
those sisyphean sentries,
to the shimmering fish in the pool;
from the historic conifers, scraping the sky,
to the fruitless cherries parading by the garden,
weeping as they go, tresses trembling mournfully,
to the tall white columns that blindly march
in line with the weeping cherries,
empathizing with their gravity;
from the fields of green
and the flowers that border the walkways,
to the graceful Boyd House arches
whose bases grasp the earth and, as it were,
lift it to heaven
where their crowns always point.

From the great room where many friends meet
joyfully promoting the arts,
surrounded by archways and antiques
that speak of periods and persons past,
to rambling stairways and hallways that lead
to bedrooms, square rooms, long rooms
and even little surprise rooms,
just like flowers you didn't know were there
until they bloom.
And if, in this hallowed house,
conscious of the renowned writers
who lingered here a while,
you can be still, relax, and listen,
perhaps you will hear voices strange,
yet familiar because of what they say.

Soon your passing the gray guards at the gate
will be like the rushing of one born here.

Published in NCPS Anthology, "Here's to the Land", 1992

Sam McKay was a Past President of the NCPS
and Editor/Publisher of Award Winning Poems for over 20 years.

Important Notice: Copyright belongs to the estate of the Poet.