The Language of Dead Flowers

Gold cherry
Poem of the week

By agnosticnun

Tue, 05 Nov 2019
  • 5374 reads
18 comments
 

Some flowers wilt softly into mulch.
Others crackle and prick like autumn leaves
Or cacti.

My mum was a spiky sort.
At the funeral: relations, colleagues, no friends
And flowers, both kinds.
Like flowers often do, she died alone.

The roses are for love
That withered before the body,
Leaving thorns.
Beauty, like wisteria, doesn’t last.
Zinnias sometimes do, stiff unlovely things.

But once she wore a veil
And was crowned in-- 
Why do they call it baby’s breath?
Do infants breath in icicles
And straw?

She had a lilac core
A perfume, if you will
Heavy on the alcohol, too heavy
But still something sweet hid behind rough twigs
Before winter came.

Chrysanthemums stand guard.
They are steadfast, chrysanthemums.

 
Photo (c) Joshua Veitch-Michaelis, England CC BY-SA 2.0
Certificate U
Poem
Family Histories
Inspiration Point (work that responds to our weekly writing cue)

Comments

Submitted by Insertponceyfre... on

What a brilliant IP result - I love how you've used the flowers so unconventionally

 

Submitted by Stephen Thom on

Excellent poem

 

Submitted by onemorething on

This is an amazing poem. :)

 

Submitted by drew_gummerson on

Oh yes, me too. I love the unexpected use of flowers. I particularly like, 'She had a lilac core' and the final 2 lines, because the admiration comes across in a completely unsentimental way. Steadfast. 

 

Submitted by agnosticnun on

Oh, I'm glad you caught that - exactly what I was aiming for.

Kristi

Submitted by skinner_jennifer on

Clever and Imaginative piece of writing.

Jenny.

 

Submitted by Ewan on

This is our Facebook and Twitter Pick of the Day. Please do share or retweet it, it deserves a wider audience.

Author Page at the 'Zon
 

Submitted by Di_Hard on

Like everyone else, found this interesting and original idea. I was going to cut and paste favourite lines but going back to do that found it would have been the whole poem. Brilliant idea brilliantly done

 

Submitted by Philip Sidney on

I found this so very moving - just how I feel about my difficult and missed mother.

Submitted by agnosticnun on

Mothers are difficult, whether present or absent, aren't they? Condolences.

Kristi

Submitted by london_calling79 on

There's such beauty here in all aspects but especially where you don't put your stresses - in your endings like 'stiff unlovely things'. Such delicate touches.

 

Submitted by agnosticnun on

Thank you. I was working to keep it unsentimental, difficult when the topic is death and flowers. I thought luigi_pagano did a nice job of that as well, using unexpected viewpoints.

Kristi

Submitted by luigi_pagano on

Hi Kristi, 
I am an admirer of your work and had come to comment on your poem when I was stopped in my track by reading your above reply. It was a lovely and unexpected surprise to see your positive appraisal of my submission. Thank you.
I agree that it is difficult to strike the right balance when writing about death without sounding too sentimental but you have managed it with aplomb and great skill. Well done on Pick of the Day. Well deserved.

Luigi x

 

Submitted by sean mcnulty on

Chimes rather beautifully for me.

 

Submitted by Philip Sidney on

This is our brilliant poem of the week - well done!

Submitted by agnosticnun on

Many thanks! I'm happy that my effort has resonated so much. (I might have chosen london_calling's poem myself...)

Kristi

Submitted by london_calling79 on

Flattered, but this one's a stunner. Congrats!

 

Submitted by celticman on

I like this language of flowers.