Thursday, March 22, 2012

Red Flower

Red Flower


I try to imagine the poem
you'd write if you thought
about such things,
what you would say about
a torn red flower or
the racket of the crickets.

I can’t find
a single word.
only the fitful ash and fleeing smoke
of our days, and the
last winter bruises fading
to summer yellow.



March 2012



55 torn petals for   the G-man



Image: A Pot of Geraniums, Odilon Redon, oil on canvas
Public Domain, courtesy wikipainitings.org
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26 comments:

  1. Brian MillerMarch 22, 2012 at 5:16 PM

    i am glad at least the bruises are fading...the ash and the smoke is a bit sad...def speaks more to brooding...come on sun shine that light...smiles...

    hope you have a blast this weekend hedge

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    1. hedgewitchMarch 22, 2012 at 6:16 PM

      Yeah--it's rained for three days straight so gloomy here but tomorrow the sun will be out, and I expect to have a blast with the grandson.

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  2. ayalaMarch 22, 2012 at 6:46 PM

    Lovely...enjoy the sunshine and the grandson :)

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  3. ScarletMarch 22, 2012 at 7:07 PM

    I am glad it is fading to summer yellow...The weather here has been marvelous...warm and sunny ~ Enjoy your day ~

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  4. FireblossomMarch 22, 2012 at 7:29 PM

    This is extremely atmospheric and moody, with an undercurrent of tenderness. I find myself very curious as to what prompted you to write this. I don't suppose it matters what inspired it...it's here and it's haunting.

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  5. Monkey ManMarch 22, 2012 at 7:35 PM

    Moody Broods. That would make a good name for a band.

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  6. G-ManMarch 22, 2012 at 7:46 PM

    Unfortunately you Okies suffered thru a Real Winter.
    We were an Anomoly this year...I'll Take It!
    Loved your 55 Joy
    Beautiful words always flow from The Hedgewitch.
    Thanks for playing, enjoy the warmth of your family,
    and have a Kick Ass Week-End

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    Replies
    1. hedgewitchMarch 22, 2012 at 7:59 PM

      Well, we had a pretty puny winter by Michigan standards, but it was enough for me. Thanks for the positive flow, and have a weekend replete with kick-assingness yourself.

      Delete
  7. limeMarch 22, 2012 at 7:54 PM

    very evocative and a bit sad but very beautifully written. here's to brighter days.

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  8. hedgewitchMarch 22, 2012 at 7:58 PM

    Thanks everyone. I'm quite cheerful at the moment, so all's well, and I'll be around to read everyone's 55's on Saturday.

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  9. MargaretMarch 22, 2012 at 8:18 PM

    I've read this a number of times. I find it neither happy, nor sad - perhaps it is more pondering, looking back.

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  10. AnonymousMarch 22, 2012 at 8:55 PM

    I like flower :)

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  11. TALONMarch 22, 2012 at 10:26 PM

    There's a bittersweetness to this. It lingers. Sometimes, maybe, words aren't even necessary.

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  12. AnonymousMarch 22, 2012 at 11:55 PM

    I enjoyed the matter-fact of nature of this, Joy. Maybe it is the title, but I did think Red Wheelbarrow when I read...that same kind of 'flow' (well, to my untrained ear). Last two lines are brilliant. ~ a

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  13. AnonymousMarch 23, 2012 at 12:14 AM

    Oohh, bruises fading to summer yellow is one of a kind image for sure. I did not see this as a season though but person, in which case it has a very definite chill. K.

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  14. JinksyMarch 23, 2012 at 3:53 AM

    Geraniums always herald the sun, so a torn flower is very sad, suggesting as it does the end of warmth - delightful words and picture...

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  15. BrendanMarch 23, 2012 at 4:27 AM

    Thanks H -- Sometimes the flower of what isn't needn't be a flower at all to yet bloom, even here, even now. Thank Blake for saying, "as the eye is form'd, so are its Powers." Wallace Stevens' Elysium was an insurance beat in Hartford, fer Crissakes ... Enjoy the family time - Brendan

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  16. RuthMarch 23, 2012 at 7:24 AM

    The interminable distance, sad, but even the distance fades like the bruises. Lovely poem, Hedge. Glad to know you're all right.

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  17. Kerry O'ConnorMarch 23, 2012 at 8:21 AM

    This is a perfect portrait in miniature: filled to the corners with colour and emotion. You do 55 words in grand style.

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  18. Other MaryMarch 23, 2012 at 10:22 AM

    Yup, it's a bruise-fading day here today. Your picture of the sad geranium fits the tone of the verse perfectly too.

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  19. moondustwriterMarch 23, 2012 at 10:31 AM

    I think the brused fading moments make the crisp dawn breaking days much more vibrant and worth the celebration
    enjoy your moments with your grandson

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  20. hedgewitchMarch 23, 2012 at 10:58 AM

    Thanks everyone. The insanity is about to begin here, but I will be around over the weekend to return visits.:)

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  21. Yousei HimeMarch 23, 2012 at 1:58 PM

    Taste of ashes...I'm learning that. Beautiful poem in its pain. Wishing you strength and peace.

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  22. Ed PilollaMarch 23, 2012 at 2:23 PM

    you couldn't find a single word but you could fill the next four lines full of knock me on my ass great.

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  23. LydiaMarch 24, 2012 at 6:08 AM

    the racket of the crickets... wow, that's great.

    I have one word for this poem: profound.


    (Whatever insanity is about to begin, may it be short-lived. Peace to you, Joy.)

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  24. LincMarch 25, 2012 at 8:04 PM

    This is beautiful, and hits home pretty hard. Hope your spring blooms unexpectedly beautiful.

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"We make out of the quarrel with others, rhetoric, out of the quarrel with ourselves, poetry." ~William Butler Yeats

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