Thursday, April 09, 2020

NPM 2020 - Nimrod Hall

During the summer of 2018 I had the opportunity to spend a weekend at Nimrod Hall in Bath  County, Virginia. Established in 1783  as a hunting lodge, it now serves as a place for artists and writers to gather. I was even luckier to  return for  another 5 days  during the summer of 2019. On the Nimrod  Hall property are a number of abandoned cabins from Camp Nimrod, the site of summer camps for boys and girls from the 1930's to the 1980's.
Camp Nimrod Cabins, Bath County, VA
July, 2018

the signs warn trespassers
do not enter
do not approach
so the cabins are 
photographed and painted 
from afar

but I was THAT child
the one that touched wet paint
crawled under fences
climbed over locked gates
the one determined to
turn no, do not, can not 
into yes

each walk past the cabins
took me closer 
filled me with longing to
peer into the windows
tiptoe up the steps
open the rotting  door

but the responsible adult
silenced the inner child
and settled for making memories
from a distance

Poem ©Tricia Stohr-Hunt, 2020. All rights reserved.

That's it for today. I hope you'll join me again tomorrow.

3 comments:

  1. I love it! And I love the memories it brings back of that magical place. Do you mind if I send this link to Nimrod Hall Writers?

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    Replies
    1. Of course! I'm happy to have you share it. I was all set to take myself back this summer for the writer's week, so I'm so disappointed that they've closed this season.

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  2. Heh, you SCOFFLAW! Climbing over fences, forsooth! However, I can see the lure - what a gorgeous landscape. I will be THAT child with you.

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