I clear out dead leaves—skeletal remains,
unearth a pattern, lace-knit life forms.
Alone in dank earth, (rank, pungent) a seedling
gestates, waits to manifest the beauty of bloom.
Gentle rays of sun awaken bird song, too early perhaps,
for the old man writhing in sweat-stained insomnia.
Across the way, on a rolling hillside, a pregnant ewe
bleats in pain, births dabs of white on green.
You open to the moment, offer your nectar,
then withdraw, leaving me alone in darkness.
Soon I shall return to the mouldering earth,
in an array of colors, flowers painting the world in joy.
Linked to dVerse Poetics where we’re asked to write beauty, perhaps with a contrast element of the apparently-not-so-beautiful. But would we have the one without the other? Hope you will join us at the Poets’ Pub.
I invite you to Link any Father’s Day Poem you have written here. The Link will be open until Monday 5:00 PM PDT.
You have a beautiful way of putting words together! Love your poetry and writings!
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The last stanza …. the old drab, lace-like leaf sinking into the earth, bowing to the new, glorious color! The contrast here is what nature does best.
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Stunning… the circle of life is amazing, this just feels like letting go to it all and becoming part of it…beautiful poem.
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to me,,, it’s highly spiritually awakening ~magnificent writing from a spiritual observer !
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new life and death… love the contrasts here.
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Beautiful Victoria, and always a great lesson, that beneath those bare bones of decay, something stirs and the circle continues 🙂
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I love those skeletal dead leaves, I have a eucalyptus leaf like it, which has been dipped in gold and I wear as a necklace. I really appreciate such aging beauty.
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Wow! a lovely piece. the contrast adds to the substance
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pristine and lovely. your connection with nature is pure, and like Laurie says above, meditative.
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Victoria, I too appreciate the beauty of compost, even the idea that I will be compost one day. Skillfully delivered.
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The human circle at your ending is a bit more complicated and also felt as being open ended ?
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loved the direction of this… and how through death beauty returns
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great imagery and rhythm
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Beautifully written Victoria ~ i like the gentle nature – seedling as well as her fertility – pregnant ewe ~ the flowers do paint the word with joy ~
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Great capture of the awesomeness of the cycle of life. Lovely feel throughout.
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This is like a morning wake-up meditation… beautiful. I feel for the poor old man who can’t sleep, though.
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“unearth a pattern, lace-knit life forms”… oh i love that.
sometimes great beauty springs from great pain – your poem reminded me of that.
wonderfully done.
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We are reminded so vividly of the inevitability of recycling, of our mortality, of our need to catalog & appreciate every dew drop, every Spring ewe, every bushel of fruit & vegetables grown by our own hands, the smell of rich earth–when we look, when we perceive the significance; and we can only be thankful as poets we are given the means of eternal appreciation.
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I love this Victoria. You not only harnessed the power of beauty as it’s found in life as well as in nature, you’re examples, especially of the painful bleating along with some earlier examples within use contrast exceptionally. Great write. Thanks
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I can certainly associate to the insomnia and those birds.. sunrise at 3AM at the moment here. And the renewal, the pain of birth..
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the circle of life def has beauty…new life is so inspiring…and at the same time the fragileness of death bears its own beauty….those little lacy leaves are very cool…nice victoria
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This is true, Victoria! Nature has a way of survival instinct that keeps things alive. Nicely!
Hank
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A beautiful piece, you have certainly capture the essence of these ‘skeletal remains,
unearth a pattern, lace-knit life forms’. Beautiful imagery.
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i would add holiness to the beauty here… dunno..but leaves me with a feeling of awe and respect and pure amazement about the circle of life with all the beauty and bleeding along the way..
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I agree, Claudia…and thank you for your thoughtful comment.
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