The silence of the woods is contagious
sap seeping under our skin. Outrageous
strings in minor key rise in a sorrowful
breaking prayer in an arboreal cathedral.
No birds sing in bare branches, gunmetal lace
against an ashen sky; no clouds to embrace
the unabashed nakedness in this hallowed
place that nature reigns, we’ve only borrowed.
A doe and her faun emerge from a stand of trees,
chew on low hanging branches – and then freeze.
They’ve sensed our invasion of this sacred place;
a singular encounter, animal to human, face to face.
Kim M. Russell, 15th September 2026
I’m hosting Poetics today at the dVerse Poets Pub and we’re taking our inspiration from Samuel Barber’s ‘Adagio for Strings’.
I’ve been a fan of classical music for a long time and one of the pieces that always moves me is ‘Adagio for Strings’. In my prompt I have provided some background to both composer and music, as well as a link to a video of the Wiener Philharmoniker conducted by Gustavo Dudamel.
Our challenge is to write a poem that expresses our thoughts and feelings on listening to this piece of music OR describes the music in words OR explores the music through imaginative imagery or storytelling.
My poem was inspired by words from one of the comments about Adagio for Strings: “It rises like grief in the throat. It breaks like prayer in a hollowed cathedral.”
writing in north norfolk 
I love this poem, Kim, and feel its weightiness, similar to that of Barber’s music. The imagery is stark and sacred at the same time, captured in every line but especially meaningfully to me, in these lines:
“No birds sing in bare branches, gunmetal lace
against an ashen sky;” ❤️
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Thank you, Dora. I’m so glad it appeals to you. ❤️
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You’re very welcome, Kim. 🙂
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Kim, I like how your mind interpreted what the music told you. Loving the moment when human and doe meet in your last 2 lines.
Thanks again for a compelling prompt!
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Thankyou so much, Lisa!
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You’re most welcome.
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Your poem is like the pause before the thunder.
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That’s a wonderful comment, Melissa, Thank you!
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Nice one
much love
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Thank you, Gillena! Much love to you.
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Stunning work done, Kim! I especially admire; “No birds sing in bare branches, gunmetal lace against an ashen sky.” It captures the mood so well! ❤️❤️
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Thank you so much, dear Sanaa! 💕
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Kim this beautifully translates the emotional weight of the music into physical landscape with the use of vivid imagery 🙌
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Thank you so much, Ange.
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Top notch Kim. A true maasterpiece. Those laast lines, “They’ve sensed our invasion of this sacred place;
a singular encounter, animal to human, face to face..”
Perfecto! 🎼🎻🎼
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Thank you very much, Cara!
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a delight kim. second stanza esp with the lace place rhyme
and of course the ending, face to face
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Cheers Eric!
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I love the movement and tension in your scene – the music of nature playing out before us. I also love the idea that there are still hallowed grounds and that if we try we can find – ‘arboreal cathedral’s – Jae
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Thank you kindly, Jae.
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The opening line is so deep and captivating. We never remember it’s borrowed…love this poem. The picture of the doe and her fern will linger.
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Thank you, Sreeja.
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I really enjoyed this poem, especially your use of “contagion” and “gunmetal lace.” It brought to mind some of the same imagery I saw when listening to the music.
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Thanks so much, Maria!
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