I bought a pack
of poppy seeds;
prepared their bed
so carefully,
but summer-long
none showed –
not one bonny
black-eyed face.
Instead,
they grew,
in a place
of their choosing
not of mine...
Amidst
the shingle
and the shale
where kindred seeds
blithely fell;
where nothing else
could survive,
they sprung alive.
Nodding
in the wind;
a barbed-wire fence,
no deterrent – still
they multiply
in crimson splendour
saying, ‘Yes,’
to liberty –
to freedom.
The more uphill the fight,
the more they thrive,
the more I will
remember them.
Comments
Beeme | November 8, 2009 - 13:49
This is beautiful,Tina. I really enjoyed. A wonderful contribution to Remembrance Sunday!
I love the last lines:
'where nothing else
could survive,
they sprung alive.'
xx
Silver Spun Sand | November 8, 2009 - 13:53
Thanks so much, Beeme;-)
Hey - I just noticed yours. Must have a read.
Tina xx
MistakenMagic | November 9, 2009 - 19:04
This is beautiful Tina - and a beauty I think I've seen before? But that might be my sleep-deprived brain ;) Poppies will always be my favourite flower and I always love any poem in which they are included! This also has a very important message that I'm glad you're sharing.
Magic xxx
Silver Spun Sand | November 9, 2009 - 19:45
Hi there, Magic. My thanks to you;-)
Yes, you are right. I have been working with this poem for a good few years or more so it is not surprising that it seems familiar.
We always remember The Great War and the Second World War, of course, but we sometimes forget the ongoing conflict in which so many lives are still being lost.
Once again, thank you.
Tina xxx
Beeme | November 9, 2009 - 22:10
Two new verses, Tina. An inspired finish! x
Silver Spun Sand | November 9, 2009 - 22:59
You noticed, Beeme;-)
Thank you. You pay me a great compliment by reading it again. Once is great...two's a bonus, more than.
Tina xx
Firebird | November 9, 2009 - 23:50
This is a lovely poem x
I love the lines "The more uphill the fight, the more they thrive"
So true of life...
Thanks :)
Silver Spun Sand | November 10, 2009 - 00:54
And thankyou, Firebird. Such an inspiring name;-)
Tina
tcook | November 10, 2009 - 15:59
That's a big improvement. I sometimes feel with your poetry that it's just too direct - I think it needs a little more mystery sometimes, a bit more innuendo, more of a hint than a tell - and this has now achieved that.
Silver Spun Sand | November 10, 2009 - 19:44
Thank you so much, Tony. I agree, hands down, with everything you say.
It is something I am only too aware of, but ABC is a great teacher. I shall try, even harder;-)
Tina
Nathan Bednarek | November 17, 2009 - 21:36
'Nodding
in the wind;
a barbed-wire fence,
no deterrent – still
they multiply
in crimson splendour
saying, ‘Yes,’
to liberty –
to freedom.'
This is my favourite, but the whole poem is just amazing. A well deserved cherry!
Nathan.
Silver Spun Sand | November 18, 2009 - 13:13
Hello, Nathan. I am so pleased you caught up with this one, as I had a feeling you would enjoy it. It took a long while to write, years in fact, but now it seems to have been worth it.
Hope your week is going OK;-)
Tina xxx