An Exile's Lament -- Jacqueline Carey

Guest poem sent in by fellriana

(Poem #1454) An Exile's Lament Beneath the golden balm Settling on the fields Evening steals in calm And farmers count their yields The bee is in the lavender, The honey fills the comb, But here a rain falls never-ending And I am far from home. -- Jacqueline Carey

Note: From the novel "Kushiel's Dart"

I don't know whether this poem counts, as it's a far cry from recognized
poetry -- but it's worth suggesting, at very least, as the images are
dead on, vivid without calling attention to themselves, and it's a beautiful
portrayal of a less-than-beautful kind of sadness.  It's in fact out of a
fantasy novel series (which while being exceptionally well-written and
highly entertaining is not "good literature").

[Martin adds]

I've always liked quietly atmospheric "still" poems like today's - the
imagery comes across very nicely, and while I can see it working well in a
fantasy novel, the fact is irrelevant to its appreciation.

And as for the comment on the series - well, there's all the difference
between good literature and "Good Literature", and I'm far more a fan of the
former than the latter. And it's always nice to see fantasy with *good*
poetry - there's way too much of the other kind around. I've put it on my
'to read' list.

[Links]

Jacqueline Carey's homepage:
  http://www.jacquelinecarey.com/

Biography:
  [broken link] http://www.jacquelinecarey.com/bio.html