Archive for October 2020
lily-of-the-valley
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lily-of-the-valley
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Convallaria majalis L.
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where they came from
I do not know, perhaps
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from my mother’s old home
in a shovel-full of lilac
a sheet of white writing paper
in a green box crammed with letters
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perhaps from my grandfather’s farm
tucked in beside the creeping Jenny
a green and white plate printed
with a saying about home
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perhaps from a seed in the gravel
spread on the paths or the road
a line of red pebbles
in a spill of quartz
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every summer the colony spreads
green flames lick at gravel
white bells, delicate perfume
scarlet berries
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a letter not written
a plate hung on the wall
a pathway leading home
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All my best!
Stay safe!
Jane
scraps of paper
Occasionally I tackle a stack of stray papers. These are usually bits saved years ago, once thought important. Sometimes I find a scrap of poetry among receipts and old letters. Poetry scribbled when an idea occurs, on any scrap within reach.
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This week I found a draft poem about following rules and the evidence left behind by bad behavior. I have always loved picking blackberries, so it is no surprise to me that picking blackberries was used as a metaphor in the poem.
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defiance
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no denying
the evidence —
pulled threads
and stained fingers
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one drupe
with all its packets
could never mark
so well, each finger
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rolled across the page
indigo tongue
and purple lips, words
blackberry-spoken
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the rule — never take
the path through woods
stick to the road, resist
blueberries, blackberries
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avoid the risk
of bears and brambles
hints of danger
in faerie tales
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Last spring I spent time pulling together some of my many poems into three upcoming books of poetry. This poem will fit well into my manuscript titled ‘niche,’ poems about the spaces plants, animals and people occupy.
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All my best!
Follow the rules of social distancing!
Stay safe!
Jane
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nichepoetryandprose 