i pluck happiness
from a pot of soil
it was wet from April rain
dazzling as first cherry bloom
i wash its
plumb leaves gently & encased it in glass
an ivory in perfect repose & sunshine
muffling all the sadness in the rooms
but in the coming days
it was a dying
flower shedding its petals
blackening roots
shrinking
losing its colors, spice & flavor
quietly, it begged to be released
as a monarch butterfly
as a wild bird
uncaged, unfiltered, unmarked
over the back yard
& out into the sky
i toss it like a ball
of dragon fire
hissing above the pine trees
{i heard laughter}
In response to my original post: {sadness}
Posted for dVerse Poets Pub - Poetics - Flipping Meanings. Join us when the pub doors open at 3pm EST.
This is gorgeously, gorgeously rendered, Grace! Wow! I love; "an ivory in perfect repose & sunshine muffling all the sadness in the rooms." The poem serves as a perfect flip, as a twin to your poem 'sadness.'💝💝
ReplyDeleteThis flipping lends itself well to your poetry, Grace. I especially love the lines:
ReplyDelete‘i pluck happiness
from a pot of soil
it was wet from April rain’.
Grace, I need to absorb this one before moving on to its opposite. I love how you released the shrinking flower!
ReplyDeleteyou make even sadness beautiful
ReplyDelete"watercolors my hours
& underlines my little joys"
and happiness is almost wrecked until release because you muffled out its twin
the thematic links these two but you did wonders with the flips too
I think this works very well as a reverse poem, as it can certainly be read as a stand-alone work and is beautiful in and of itself. Skilfully done!
ReplyDeleteThis piece flows beautifully. The last stanza gives me chills. Very writgerly and expertly crafted. Well done!
ReplyDeleteI absolutely LOVE this poem, and the liberation of the bloom (I heard laughter). Just spectacular. You are very tuned in to the non-human realm. I wish more people were.
ReplyDeleteI only liked this poem a lot until I clicked on the Sadness link, at which point I was totally Ga-gaaaa.
ReplyDeleteWow... I think... I... like this one more than the first, and it's a really close call, Grace.
ReplyDeleteYours,
David
A very nice flip Grace! I love this image...
ReplyDeletei toss it like a ball
of dragon fire
hissing above the pine trees
Ah Grace....for me your writing always sits beautifully in my mind as I silently read it aloud. Beautifully done here with the prompt.
ReplyDelete