The prompt at Poets United Thursday Think Tank yesterday was "Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow". Yesterday we had a snowstorm, and today the earth is encrusted in ice. So this is what came through :
I consider the lily:
deep underground,
with a small pick-axe,
muttering.
She is
trying to
chip away at
the frozen hardpan
above,
grumbling about
the sheer impossibility
of ever emerging
from this
icy tunnel,
where the ground
will not yield,
where nothing
assists
her passage
into the sun.
I identify.
Late winter
can feel like this,
to a lily,
to a hungry crow,
to a tired human
afraid to open
the oil bill.
Like the lily,
we all await
just a little
"give" in the earth,
so we can
get some purchase on
our passage,
slip
one more time
above
the frozen hardpan
and into
the light and warmth
of one more spring.
If I read only one poem today, this is the ONE.
ReplyDeleteSimply divine.
sherry! this is simply beautiful... your writings are becoming ever so better and better and better and better ... :)
ReplyDeleteI relate, too, Sherry. It takes commitment and perseverance to become what we are intended to become. Personal evolution and fruition are hard work.
ReplyDeleteoh sherry this is exquisite! 'we all await
ReplyDeletejust a little
"give" in the earth,' and a little give toward ourselves and others-from ourselves and from others... compassion, and tenderness... sometimes hearts become hard like the ice covered fields too... we wait for them to soften, for the light to warm them... and it does, gradually it does.
Very apt analogy, and lovely writing--don't I know how it feels. We had record cold here in the south, below zero, which means I will be cutting off or digging up a great many plants soon...to return to your metaphor, I'm hoping the lilies were nested deep enough below the freeing air to come back when the time is right.
ReplyDeleteSherry, this is simply beautiful.
ReplyDeleteFrom the heart of the lily.
Pamela
Very lovely Sherry, must continue to dig and scrape to reach the sunlight so we all can one day feel the warmth and the reward of holding on.
ReplyDeleteI like this poem. Reminds me of Kay Ryan's poem Spiderweb.
ReplyDeleteFrom other
angles the
fibers look
fragile, but
not from the
spider’s, always
hauling coarse
ropes, hitching
lines to the
best posts
possible. It’s
heavy work
everyplace,
fighting sag,
winching up
give. It
isn’t ever
delicate
to live.
Hi Sherry, I've returned to invite you to visit my blog tomorrow (saturday), as there will be a little something waiting for you when you arrive:)
ReplyDeleteI love lilies.
ReplyDeleteA flawless piece of writing, Sherry, a wonderful reminder that perserverance and hope will eventually take us back into the light...just beautifully done! You really touched my heart with this one...
ReplyDeleteLynette
well done!
ReplyDeletepopping over from Laura's congratulations & have a super weekend
You have a beautiful poetic voice...I enjoyed this..so many meanings...visiting from Laura's...so glad I did! :)
ReplyDeleteHi Sherry,
ReplyDeleteI'm here from Laura's blog, and really happy to find you. Your poetry is beautiful. I can especially relate to this one as I long for winter (both internal and external) to end.
We have three year old golden retriever named Toby. Love in a shaggy red bundle of joy.
The flower for my birth month is lily of the valley. Have always been partial and love what you wrote here. Wonderful analogy,
ReplyDeleteElizabeth
Sherry, Thank you for your kind comment on my blog. And then, I visit here and find your lovely writing! As a northern dweller, living in snowy hills on the shores of one of the Great Lakes, I so appreciate the metaphor of the lily breaking through the cold ground in search of spring! On a more practical note, I think I spied the leaves of lily of the valley in the garden of my little rental cottage when I moved in last fall. I am looking forward to pulling a big handful and letting them scent the air of my rooms in the spring! Ahhhh! So good to have things to look forward to!
ReplyDeleteI look forward to visiting here again! :)
You've personified the Lily in such a striking way. I love that she carries a pick-ax! Its a perfect analogy, and I identify too--how I need this winter to end. A lovely poem!
ReplyDeleteA wonderful write.....you are soaring! So beautiful..."a lily, a hungry crow, a tired human." Thank you
ReplyDelete