Tuesday, January 5, 2021

{sadness}


 i left sadness as a half-peeled onion

on a platter

it saw no sunshine

but to my surprise, it grew

speckled leaves

the color of my eyes &

roots, the shape of my feet


i planted it in pot of soil

nurtured by winter cold symphony

& northern darkness

no petals grew

nor sweet fruits of long summer days


instead its roots spread

warming my blood

as spice, flavor, fire

in my belly

it became part of my body

watercolors my hours

& underlines my little joys


whistling with sigh & shiver 

hush of pine trees



Inspired by my Photo of the Growing Half-Peeled Onion

"Color arrives,
sometimes when
you least expect it."  
Inspired from post from Brain Pickings 

Inspired Poem by W. S. Mervin


Posted for dVerse Poets Pub - A Conversation, hosted by Sarah Connor.  Join us when the pub doors open at 3pm EST.

17 comments:

  1. Oh my.....if you were sitting beside me, you would have heard and audible sigh escape at the end of my reading this and then a quiet whispered "wow"
    Just beautiful, Grace.

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  2. My goodness this is absolutely stunning, Grace!💝 Especially love; "instead its roots spread warming my blood as spice, flavor, fire in my belly,it became part of my body." Sigh..💝

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  3. I love this exploration, Grace. The growth is beautiful.

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  4. The human spirit always finds a way to remain inspired. I think of the lowly onion and its inspiration with awe through your words. Wonderful!

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  5. I love, love, love this!

    "i left sadness as a half-peeled onion

    on a platter"

    Off topic, but it reminded me of a poem my friend wrote about onions. He personified it, humorously. The opener reminded me of that!

    Anyway, I love the transformation here, how sadness can grow and be nurtured into feelings of whole and content, maybe not happiness but a place where one could feel better. Beautifully written.

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  6. I like this metamorphosis

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  7. Somehow this seemed to speak of the small moments of little joys we learned to notice in our enforced quarantine...the growth of perception allowed when our world stood still and we were forced to consider small things in its cessation of spinning.

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  8. Putting down roots ~~ what it’s all about! Happy 2021.

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  9. Thankyou for introducing me to the poetry of W. S. Mervin, Grace, and for sharing this beautiful extended metaphor poem. Sadness can grow into something positive. I especially love the lines:
    ‘no petals grew
    nor sweet fruits of long summer days

    instead its roots spread
    warming my blood
    as spice, flavor, fire
    in my belly’.

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  10. Oh, you've really excelled yourself, Grace. This is wonderful.

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  11. A quiet and powerful exploration of emotions.

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  12. This is lovely, Grace, how you take sadness, nurture it and realise that whatever form it takes in the end, it's part of the way we are.

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  13. Well written Grace, and Happy New Year!

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  14. you lived up to your name with this one!

    Sadness adapted, integrated and blossomed ... sigh

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  15. Amazing! Just amazing amazing poetry, Grace.

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