Poet Padraig O’Tuama remembered an evening watching the Vanbrugh Quartet perform Dvorak’s String Quartet in F. Beside his sister, sitting on uncomfortable chairs in a wood paneled room, he was spellbound. But, he knew if he shared the story the next day, “I’d fail, and in the failing something would be lost. I held the music and the memory in me like a secret.”
Outside snow danced
against frosted panes.
We had escaped for the weekend
to Monhonk Mountain House,
a chalet hotel tucked
along the shore of a small lake
formed by a glacier
on its way to the sea.
Ringed on all sides
by gradually rising stone hills,
Mohonk Lake
is cut off nicely
from the daily trials
of ordinary life.
Our room,
wood-paneled,
compact enough for just
a bed, dresser, chair
and iron-clad fireplace.
Insulated in our lovely space,
we stacked our ambitious reading pile
on the heavy carved mantel
and turned to start a fire.
The small balcony
held two Adirondack chairs
if we felt brave enough
to hazard the cold.
For three days,
we only ventured out for meals,
content to read,
share the silence,
stoke the fire.
No itinerary guided us,
no pressures forded the door.
When we packed to leave,
I knew I would carry this respite
in my heart
like a balm.
A Reading Life 
”Carry this respite in my heart like a balm”- so calming.
LikeLike
this is so beautiful. I appreciated the intro, then your beautiful, serene picture-painting. My favorite line was “formed by a glacier/on its way to the sea.’ And I think that line added to the sense of time not existing that you created in your poem.
LikeLike
Such a lovely memory. I hope your re-telling of the experience makes it richer in your heart. I see no failing or loss here. Beautiful.
LikeLike
The peace that you experienced those three days really comes through. Love this: “content to read, share the silence, stoke the fire.” Sounds lovely. Is this in the Hudson Valley? I’ve been there but never stayed over.
LikeLike
“Carry this respite in my heart,” sums up the incredible lodge nestled in the woods. I have been there, for the day, to skate (devine) and to cross country ski (challenging) and to sip hot chocolate by a fire outside! You could have a advertisement in your post. I would love to go.
LikeLike
Lovely – we are headed north next week for what I hope to be a similar treat at the edge of Lake Superior. Thanks for sharing these moments.
LikeLike
Monhonk sounds magical. I adore your use of verse to capture moments in time.
LikeLike
What a lovely memory of a quiet retreat. Seems like these moments are hare to come by in our busy “connected” world.
“For three days,
we only ventured out for meals,
content to read,
share the silence,
stoke the fire.”
Your taking me to a BBC happy place with this description.
LikeLike