Tuesday, March 1, 2016

Rosebud

image: fineartamerica.com


A flower was offered to me,
a pretty bud, tightly curled,
brand new, without blemish,
innocent and full of promise.
I was given few instructions,
had to learn through trial and error
how to care for it,
how much water, not too much,
how much sunshine, not too much.
I had to learn to loosen the soil
around its roots, so it did not strangle,
give it room to breathe.
I had to learn how to wrap it
warmly against the cold of winter,
how to encourage it when it faltered,
and began to lose hope.

Somehow, through storm and struggle,
it survived, for it wanted very much to live.

A flower was offered to me.
It took longer than most to bloom.
But, once blooming, it wanted to never stop.
My dear bloom aged and, in its aging,
was the sweeter, honeyed, rich and full,
brimming with memories, laughter and tears
at the long journey it had made,
and my gratitude grew and grew
for the incredible gift of the bloom
that was my one, precious life.


for Sumana's prompt for Midweek Motif at Poets United: "A flower was offered to me", after the poem by William Blake. Do check out the other links. Great prompt, Sumana!


34 comments:

  1. This is beautiful, Sherry. We are indeed each a flower...a unique flower, having bloomed and grown in our own way.

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  2. Beautiful Sherry, I read semblance of being a parent and that of living your own life as I read your poem.

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  3. Life is best and most beautiful when it is like a flower..."But, once blooming, it wanted to never stop." My favorite line...So lovely Sherry...

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  4. If only we would remember we are the fruit of others efforts and should be appreciative of that. This is a beautiful poem you have created Sherry.

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  5. Love the way you made it a metaphor for life itself.

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  6. There is a freedom in this - hard fought for and i hope won - you are a beautiful, shining flower...i love every syllable of those instructions..they are not just written..they are known

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  7. we are all "given few instructions" but you are evidently a supreme gardener for the soul - lovely lines Sherry and a joyful ending

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  8. How lovely! I LOVE THIS POEM!!!! At first I thought it was a baby given to be nurtured. By the time I realized the narrator was "you"the ideas blended and I saw the self as a precious child we must nurture. Then loving others as the self would make so much more sense.

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  9. Beautiful. Inspiring.To reach this
    joyous state through trial and error
    is indeed a blessing.

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  10. This is so beautifully emotive and inspiring :D

    Lots of love,
    Sanaa

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  11. Your joy of living is infectious. How lovely to want to bloom and never yo stop

    Have a nice Wednesday

    Much love...

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  12. What a delightful experience it was to read the poem..Beautiful!As they say, we rise by lifting others...
    Loved this, Sherry!

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  13. Beautiful poem, Sherry. A brilliant metaphor of life...loved it to the core...:-)

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  14. What a beautiful blooming it is Sherry ~ So much to be grateful for and you are the lucky one ~

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  15. This is lovely Sherry--A lovely way to live and love!

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  16. Wonderful to be even more precious as we age and bloom.

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    1. It is life that grows ever more precious, the shorter the time is ahead............to be appreciated, for certain.

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  17. I hope that we handle the things we are entrusted with this type of loving care. Lovely verse

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  18. A flower always in bloom much like the spirit ..just need to keep nurturing it. Give it rain and sun and it will thrive. Beautifully written

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  19. Every line, brilliant. touching.

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  20. The ending gave me chills.

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  21. Lovely. Every flower needs care and space. So do relationships.

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  22. Precious poem! I loved your reflection.

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  23. So, beautiful! I love how you did this one~

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  24. So very lovely. If we can all look at aging in this graceful passionate way, we will be happier for sure!

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  25. Beautiful description of patience and the passage of time.

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  26. Our life is much like a blossoming of a flower...this is beautiful Sherry!

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  27. Beautiful. I love how you depict life through the blooming flower.

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  28. Lovely poem, Sherry. It reminded me of the Rose in "The Little Prince " by Antoine St Exupéry!

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