The Ignorant Seed
A Roundel
The seed's not born knowing more than to fly
where it's up-thrown, blue-skied like the linnet.
Where it falls unfeathered and bound to lie
the seed's not born knowing.
Ignorance, rain and the earth begin it,
Ignorance, rain and the earth begin it,
the labor to live without knowing why,
to crack and splash out the thing within it
to be the bait for the hummingbird's eye
to be the bait for the hummingbird's eye
nectar, fragrance, a color infinite,
then die where it stands without a goodbye;
the seed's not born knowing.
~April 2013
posted for real toads
Challenge:I Say Roundel, You Say Rondolet
The well-in*formed* Marian Kent challenges us to attack either the roundel or rondolet form to get our April benumbed poetic juices flowing. I did the Roundel, simply because I'm a Swinburne fan and he invented it. I played a bit loose with the meter and stresses here and there, but hey, it's 4:30 in the morning. I blame Algernon.
Here is the free verse fragment I pulled this from, just for fun. I really like the roundel better, I think.
Seed
The seed knows
very little; only to fly with the wind
to land where it's thrown
to push out what's in it,
be if it can
a tall womb for
bees
then die where it stands.
~April 2013
They are both lovely poems and really quite different for all of the unknowing seed. I like the rounded because of the linnet and kind of a quiet homage to Yeats to me and I love the blue- skied.
ReplyDeleteThe bee'a womb is lovely too and a great simplicity in that one. K.
Thanks, k. Yeats is always echoing in the rhymed ones, isn't he? Especially if they're about nature.
DeleteThe central stanza of your Roundel is a real treat...like the filling in a sandwich. LOL
ReplyDeleteIgnorance, rain and the earth begin it,
the labor to live without knowing why,
to crack and splash out the thing within it.
Joy Ann, I love the Roundel. Beautiful, lilting lines. I am always appreciative of well written form poetry. I didn't realize you were doing napo. See how out of touch I am. I hope all is well with you.
ReplyDeletePamela
Thanks, pamels. Yes I do this torture every year--I find it to be a good exercise in ingenuity, if nothing else. ;_) Thanks for reading, and all is well here, if a bit disrupted by national events atm.
DeleteYes, the first is beautiful - a bit prayer like.
ReplyDeleteOh my I love both poems, but the first is stunning. The middle stanza of the roundel is amazing...I am always blessed when I read your work!
ReplyDeletelove it, right on! especially "bait for the hummingbird's eye."
ReplyDeletethey could arrive here anytime, i should put out my feeders/bait.
the seeds do what they do, and we are graced by their efforts.
We saw our first yesterday and put the feeder out--poor little guy, it's still really too cold for them but hopefully this is the last cold snap--thanks for a great, and very helpful prompt, Marian. Yeesh this is a long month!
Deletereally gorgeous
ReplyDeleteI was just thinking, I think too much. I need to be like the seed :) Thanks for the parable.
ReplyDeleteEnjoying this pairing of your free verse with the formed Roundel. You've brought exquisite imagery, I esp. like falls unfeathered, to ignorance. Not so surprising, though, is the way your free verse version shows the seed's truth more blatantly. A really great pairing.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jane--and thanks for reading and commenting on all those poems yesterday--I appreciate your thoughts and reactions very much.
DeleteThe roundel gave your original idea firm muscle and structure. So much I love in your lines: the words to rhyme with linnet, the fragment that becomes the refrain and this crucial line: the labor to live without knowing why...
ReplyDeleteSuperb!
Yes, it's a lot of work to ask of us, even for a seed. Thanks, Kerry.
DeleteThis is beautifully philosophical. You did a terrific job with a difficult form!
ReplyDeleteThe roundel form is new for me as was a linnet. You showed me much to admire. I love to be bait for the hummingbird's eye. What a great image.
ReplyDeleteOh my!! Hedge!! This sings to my heart...there's so much wisdom in the seed and the not knowing...both forms are exquisite!!
ReplyDeleteLove the rhymes you used and this:" it's up-thrown, blue-skied" I love that...wording that one doesn't expect!
The bee's womb in your freeverse! Love that.
I enjoyed the art you chose for your ekphrastik challenge...I'm sorry I didn't get to join you guys though...busy weekend. :)'s
I think the roundel is much richer. I like this tremendously, Hedge.
ReplyDeleteI seem to be in good company this evening ... the roundel is my favorite too. So many wonderful lines ..
ReplyDeleteI like the roundel better. This shouldn't be butchered down to minimalistic free-form at all imho. :) A lot of hope felt after reading this one.
ReplyDeleteoh! you said it so well....the seed does not know ... and neither do we....:)
ReplyDeleteYou rocked this one! And the picture - I just love it.
ReplyDeleteI always feel sorry for little seedlings springing up amidst brick and mortar, concrete and construction. It does not know it won't become a tree. In this case, I would say ignorance is bliss, not knowing or caring what its fate is, just growing because it's in its DNA.
ReplyDeleteA fine write once again, Joy. You see so much.
K
I enjoyed both poems the first had more texture which I truly enjoyed but, the second one had a nice easy flow just like a seed.
ReplyDelete