Welcome to The Poet’s Corner
Along the Way of her Camino pilgrimage
Elin Babcock gained an insight into rust
from rust’s point of view.
Interesting that two of the most important life
giving elements, Oxygen and Water, are the
very same ingredients that cause iron to rust.
And, intriguing, that iron, universally perceived
as the symbol of human strength, in time will
change entirely into rust and disintegrate in
the presence of oxygen and water.
Listen now to Elin’s insightful wisdom as she recites
Rust: Delicate Unwanted Beauty
Elin Babcock Delicate Unwanted Beauty
Elin Babcock On My Camino 2020
Elin Babcock Rust: Delicate Unwanted Beauty
You harvested iron from the earth
Formed it in your image
Polished it. Cleaned it. Oiled it.
Plowed with it. Drove it. Discarded it.
On old ringed cans void of paper labels
Between nuts and bolts
I form crevice brown and tan lines.
On the locks, chained gates
And silent, still, emptiness
Of abandoned factories and mills
I work to return iron to the earth.
Dropped on fields and shores
Barrels, chambers, bullets
On bayonets, ramrods, triggers
And helmets that failed to protect
I work among the battlefields.
In ships at sea and dry docked
I bubble on deck railings and hulls
On tall masts and port hole window rims
I seep under layers of gray paint.
I am red, brown, yellow ochre
Flaky, mottled, pitted
I reclaim what you left behind
Bring it home
From fields, junk yards and deserts
Iron to rust to dust.
Delicate unwanted beauty.
© Elin Babcock. All rights reserved.
Elin Babcock Delicate Unwanted Beauty
Elin Babcock Delicate Unwanted Beauty
Elin Babcock Delicate Unwanted Beauty
Elin Babcock Delicate Unwanted Beauty
You harvested iron from the earth
Formed it in your image
Polished it. Cleaned it. Oiled it.
Plowed with it. Drove it. Discarded it.
On old ringed cans void of paper labels
Between nuts and bolts
I form crevice brown and tan lines.
On the locks, chained gates
And silent, still, emptiness
Of abandoned factories and mills
I work to return iron to the earth.
Dropped on fields and shores
Barrels, chambers, bullets
On bayonets, ramrods, triggers
And helmets that failed to protect
I work among the battlefields.
In ships at sea and dry docked
I bubble on deck railings and hulls
On tall masts and port hole window rims
I seep under layers of gray paint.
I am red, brown, yellow ochre
Flaky, mottled, pitted
I reclaim what you left behind
Bring it home
From fields, junk yards and deserts
Iron to rust to dust.
Delicate unwanted beauty.
© Elin Babcock. All rights reserved.
Elin Babcock Delicate Unwanted Beauty
Elin Babcock Delicate Unwanted Beauty
You harvested iron from the earth
Formed it in your image
Polished it. Cleaned it. Oiled it.
Plowed with it. Drove it. Discarded it.
On old ringed cans void of paper labels
Between nuts and bolts
I form crevice brown and tan lines.
On the locks, chained gates
And silent, still, emptiness
Of abandoned factories and mills
I work to return iron to the earth.
Dropped on fields and shores
Barrels, chambers, bullets
On bayonets, ramrods, triggers
And helmets that failed to protect
I work among the battlefields.
In ships at sea and dry docked
I bubble on deck railings and hulls
On tall masts and port hole window rims
I seep under layers of gray paint.
I am red, brown, yellow ochre
Flaky, mottled, pitted
I reclaim what you left behind
Bring it home
From fields, junk yards and deserts
Iron to rust to dust.
Delicate unwanted beauty.
© Elin Babcock. All rights reserved.