I search for words sweet as pink tulips
fragrant lush from fields of lavender
their colors blossoming under summer sun
weaving calming spell of quiet lake
But alas
I am standing, squashed sideways, like
a fish
caught by early morning pandemonium
hardly breathing, as trains stalled in tracks
Outside, winter snow piles on and on-
Posted for Imaginary Garden for Real Toads -
Transforming Friday with Hannah- Lavender and 55 Words following Robert Herrick word stanza-
Shared with Poets United ~
Notes: Last Thursday morning, my train commute took an hour longer as trains were delayed due to emergency services ~ Normally it's just a bearable 30 minute ride ~
Have a good weekend ~
ha. th eimage that caught me was squatting sideways like a fish...
ReplyDeletei had to think on that...i feel that overwelming of the world and all its noise
when i want to feel a bit more lavender....
I cannot imagine what it must feel like to be kept standing on a crowded train for an hour longer than necessary! I think this stanza form works very well in conveying the change of mood from the first section - wishing for lavender fields - and the second, describing the crush of the train. I enjoyed the piece.
ReplyDeleteDear Grace
ReplyDeleteSo wonderful and sensitive. Love your poems...
Specialy this line goes into my Heart:" I am standing, squashed sideways, like a fish"
Hugs
JetteMajken
I'm glad you made it through! Does not sound like an enjoyable experience, but your reading your poem was. Those first 4 lines are the kind to whisk one away.
ReplyDeleteYour imagery as always, Grace, stands out in the mind--lyric and very vivid with a sense of the pressure of the everyday flattening us.
ReplyDeleteI love the contrast that you built here... and this, "calming spell of quiet lake" I love that...thank you for joining, Grace!!
ReplyDeleteSo very sad. The potential and yearning for the acme, only to be quashed in the abyss.
ReplyDeleteThere is nothing quite like fields of lavender to transport us from the humdrum drab of city life to a place of beauty. This made me think of the South of France and then of a place within a mile of my home in NV called Lavender Village.
ReplyDeleteIt must take effort to find lavender in the human crush and landscape painted with snow. Beautiful write
ReplyDeleteOh, the feeling of that squashed fish...gasping for air! It can be a struggle to find that sense of calm and peace. Creative take on lavender prompt :)
ReplyDeleteI really like the imagery created by these words. Beautiful poem. Have a great weekend :-)
ReplyDeletegah, it really does pile on and on! i wish for lavender, or at least more temperate, for you, Grace.
ReplyDeletethis is really special Grace, and love the picture
ReplyDeleteSo glad I don't have to take a train, the snow is bad enough.
ReplyDeleteI like the contrast between first half and last! Hopefully transportation will continue to be improved in our fair province. 😊
ReplyDeletesearch for words sweet as pink tulips ... oh my, I love that and then to understand the context in which it is thought... wonderful that you can go there even in the crunch of that train!
ReplyDeleteAWESOME!!!!
ReplyDeleteAmazing how separate our heads can be from our feet! Very well described here! Thanks, Grace. K. (http://manicddaily.wordpress.com)
ReplyDeleteI liked the flow and the segue into the not so sweet last half. Fun reading if it isn't me.
ReplyDeleteNo, you are right, one does not think of sweet words for anyone when stuck in traffic. Be thankful for trains. In Texas we have to drive our cars and they get stuck in traffic too, really bad. And we have to drive, can't read or sleep.
Snow doesn't come though, to our part of Texas, along the Gulf Coast.
..
Grace, I like too your 55 word count. Mised that yesterday. Thanks for peeking in on me twice.
Delete,,
What a contrast you build here.. the commuter trains in winter is exactly the place to have flowery dreams. Desperately needed when we have that smell of wet wool and squashed like a fish
ReplyDelete...and here i sit in the wee hours waiting on the snow that most likely will not come as fast or hard as predicted. I would rather than hanging from a strap, squashed sideways you were instead waiting in those field of lavender words
ReplyDeleteGrace, a beautiful poem!
ReplyDeleteYes, the contrast between the tulips and the snow....definitely a stark difference well penned.
ReplyDeleteI hope the snow melts and the lavender hunt resumes..it is a soothing flower xo
ReplyDeleteSuch longing... Wanting lavender while the land is covered with snow. For even if the speaker saved a few cuttings--an entire harvest!--the scent won't be as strong as when the blooms are being kissed by the summer sun.
ReplyDeleteMay a sprig of lavender or three find their way to the sweetest spot under the speaker's pillow...
Alas! And yet, if you can evoke these images in your spirit, you will not only survive, you will thrive!
ReplyDeleteI have never been stucked inside a train for longer than an hour... so far it was 30mins or more of waiting that I had to endure due to technical problems. Not a good feeling, indeed. I guess you've written these words while inside that train. Reaching a lavender field for real would be a dream come true. Lovely piece, Grace! Smiles.
ReplyDelete- ksm
I love the contrast.. in the beginning the picture is really soothing and comforting, but it quickly changes into the reality ..
ReplyDeleteAh hate that kind of commute--and the lavender with its calming sense-nice contrast here
ReplyDeletelove the first line,
ReplyDeletepowerful poetry.
Oh Grace I often had that dream too and wonderful it is....I could use those lavender fields right now with all this cold and snow.
ReplyDeleteI can stare at this beauty for hours. So beautiful. Amazing!
ReplyDeleteLove the phrase, "squashed sideways,/like a fish"
ReplyDeleteWhat a great contrast between imagination and reality. I think almost all of us can relate to that.
startlingly vivid, that contrast... i don't envy you your weather
ReplyDeleteIt takes skill to conjure lavender fields in the midst of a snowstorm, but you did it. I hope the snow lets up soon, it is ridonkulous in the east this winter!
ReplyDeleteWhat a contrast between the two states.
ReplyDeleteYour commute that day sounds truly hideous. But, true to form and in keeping with the artist that you are, you transcended it and made this beautiful, even fragrant, poem. I loved it, and love that was your reaction to such chaos.
ReplyDeleteOh, a lovely fantasy. It's a shame about the pandemonium and the cold!
ReplyDeletethere's selling tulips at the florist... at least we can still dream
ReplyDeleteI smiled as I read your beatiful thoughts of colors and fields, then take us to the reality of being stuck in a train. Great contrast and great writing.
ReplyDeleteI love the feeling at the start of the poem. I myself have been caught on stuffy, cramped trains before and fields do NOT come to mind! ;)
ReplyDeleteBeing stuck is rarely good. It does, however let us explore different ways to look at the world around us.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful poem that depicts a beautiful picture of lavender fields going off into the horizon of the setting sun. Great poem Grace!
ReplyDeleteWhat a picture you have painted. Beautiful words.
ReplyDeleteooof. spring won't be long, we can hope, yes ~
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing how throughout the chaos and stifling close-quarters, you have woven serenity, the sweet scent of fresh bloom, and pure hope. Such moments in the mind are like a magical escape, and at the same time provide strength to breathe deeply and face the elements. Lovely poem!
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing how throughout the chaos and stifling close-quarters, you have woven serenity, the sweet scent of fresh bloom, and pure hope. Such moments in the mind are like a magical escape, and at the same time provide strength to breathe deeply and face the elements. Lovely poem!
ReplyDeleteReality just had to seep in…
ReplyDelete