Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Cellared

Dusted off the claret
a vintage from another time
held her in my hands and stared
imagining her taste and rhyme...

The label still bright and vivid
the shape of the bottle fine
the fill, the neck, the lace like foil
all spoke of nectar divine.

But that wine required returning
to the rack from whence it came
to pass more years of ripening
and so nearly drunk remain.

The feast postponed indefinitely
the concubine on hold
venal thirsts and hungers cellared
to await a nobler mold.

5 comments:

Karen said...

What a testament to winery! (I don't even know the proper word - vintnery? LOL)

You know, I love rhyming poetry, and it seems as if lots of poetry shies away from that.

I can clearly see the speaker holding this precious bottle and returning it with regret. Love the use of "concubine."

lissa said...

like a memory prolonged but not quite the right time to remember or to forget

KGT (aka Cagey) said...

Karen- I think the word you were looking for is, according to Wicki, Oenology, Å“nology (BrE), or enology (AmE)... the science and study of all aspects of wine and winemaking except vine growing and grape harvesting, which are a subfield called viticulture. “Viticulture & oenology” is a common designation for training programs and research centers that include both the “outdoors” and “indoors” aspects of wine production.

An increasing number of universities now offer B.S. and M.S. degrees in oenology. Most oenologists who hold doctorates hold them in related fields such as plant physiology or microbiology. Oenologists often serve as winemakers or find employment with commercial laboratories or with groups such as the Australian Wine Research Institute.

Related nonacademic titles include the prestigious Master of Wine qualification and the more commercially oriented sommelier qualification.

An expert in the field of oenology is known as an oenologist. The word oenology is derived from the Greek oinos, “wine” and logos, “word” or “speech.

I am none of these things. Maybe a wine-o. :) Thanks for your thoughts on the poem.

KGT (aka Cagey) said...

Lissa,

Exactly.

Karen said...

It's funny, but while I was reading your explanation, I thought, "I'm just a wino!" LOL