Dance Of Promise Posse’s Spring Beauty Plant

Poetic Hunger of the Heart, Feast Of The Wild

As I look back on not only my own poetry, stories, & other writing endeavors over a lifetime, I am certain that this is in part a long statement of DNA shared talents that spans many generations. The recent short stories I’ve shared from our Grama Daisy’s life, also inspire more poems to be written. Here is one, that has ties to both:

The inspiration for this poem came from a rather unusual bouquet of hundreds of pages of scribbled “memories” from both Daisy & some of her beloved family members. I blended years of my own very serious gardening knowledge (think instruction manuals, essays, not flowery prose).

Add a sprinkle of horticultural degree, & countless garden club meetings Grama Daisy dragged my brother and I to. . . plus a dash of my own gardening publications for good measure. All tossed together in the salad of herbal remedy teachings with a poetic salad dressing of how much dearly missed her mother & sister. Don’t worry, it’s not as strange as it sounds, hopefully!

Tears Of Spring Beauty

Through Catawissia’s snowy winter’s grip, fear of a broken promise gleams, Sleepless nights whisper soft terror in fading & nightmarish dreams. On the skeleton of Iroquois Ghost Dream winds, an ancient voice called ever so faint, Spring Beauty waits for you, a life-stained tear stained plant paint.

Then bursts forth hints of spectacular color, soft, bold and bright, A lavender, pinkish, violet dance, with heavy heavenly stripes of white. Resilience only found in nature inspiration whispered on the breeze, Spring Beauty blooms, especially for those in their slumber grieve.

A now gone mother’s touch, still holding on a memory sacred and dear, Four promises whispered on a deathbed, ear to ear, year to year. Like tiny posse petal flags, they bravely & bravely still everlastingly stand, A vibrant floral spring is here carpet, echoing ‘cross all of the land.

Then bursts forth hints of spectacular color, soft, bold and bright, A lavender, pinkish, violet dance, with heavy heavenly stripes of white. Resilience only found in nature inspiration whispered on the breeze, Spring Beauty blooms, especially for those in their slumber grieve.

Young Daisy, barely a decade old with a locked inside tear-stained face, Hears her mother’s & Little Alice’s whispers soft, a gentle elusive grace. The ancient Iroquois Ghost Dream murmurs, “I forgive you, soft & low,” “Spring Beauty blooms here, to release me & let your heart hopes grow. Their tender shoots, their roots, and leaves, a packaged gift so kind, A foraged feast, a gift for you for both your body & in-need-of mind.”

Then bursts forth hints of spectacular color, soft, bold and bright, A lavender, pinkish, violet dance, with heavy heavenly stripes of white. Resilience only found in nature inspiration whispered on the breeze, Spring Beauty blooms, especially for those in their slumber grieve.

Daisy kneels at her Bantam hens home beside the fragrant blossoms fair, Inhales their sweet scent, as she whispers her mother’s taught healing prayer. For not just hope for tomorrow, that these promised first spring flowers bring, But sustenance is sweet, on who will feed my children now sorrow’s wing. The roots, the leaves, & even the flowers all treasures, small but strong, An edible wild picked food’s Mother Nature’s bounty, ridding hunger’s wrong.

Then bursts forth hints of spectacular color, soft, bold and bright, A lavender, pinkish, violet dance, with heavy heavenly stripes of white. Resilience only found in nature inspiration whispered on the breeze, Spring Beauty blooms, especially for those in their slumber grieve.

Let us forever remain hopeful, knowing our spirits will survive with hearts alight, Like the Spring Beauty plant, among the first to appear in the Spring bathed in sunlight. For life renews forever a kept promise, in Mother nature’s inspiring & holy art, A healing and soothing internal balm, for fragile heart mind and heart.

Then bursts forth hints of spectacular color, soft, bold and bright, A lavender, pinkish, violet dance, with heavy heavenly stripes of white. Resilience only found in nature inspiration whispered on the breeze, Spring Beauty blooms, especially for those in their slumber grieve & wait.

Analysis of the Poem:

I often provide with my own poetry an offering of how I approached what went into the poem (largely as a tool for teaching poetry forms to others). If you have read any of my many poems, I am a big fan of free verse. With this poem you get:

Rhyme Scheme: The poem follows a consistent ABAB CDCD EFEF GHGH IJI JIJI rhyme scheme. This creates a sense of rhythm and predictability throughout the poem.

Theme: The central theme revolves around hope and resilience in the face of grief and loss. The poem explores how nature, particularly the Spring Beauty flower, offers solace and sustenance during difficult times.

Imagery: The poem uses vivid imagery to create a strong emotional connection with the reader. Here are some key examples:

• Wintry Imagery: “Catawissia’s snowy winter’s grip,” “skeleton of Ghost Dream winds” — These both create a sense of coldness & desolation Daisy felt at the tender age of ten.
• Spring Beauty Imagery: “lavender, pinkish, violet dance,” “heavy heavenly stripes of white.” I include this imagery to highlight the delicate beauty & resilience of the flowers which may not be familiar to all readers.
• Sensory Details: “inhales their sweet scent,” “treasures, small but strong.” These details engage hopefully my reader’s senses & make the poem more immersive.

Other Literary Devices: I am fond of the following when I write in this poem form.

• Personification: The poem personifies the Spring Beauty flower & the Iroquois Ghost Dream, giving them voices & actions.
• Symbolism: The Spring Beauty flower symbolizes hope, resilience, & the promise of new life. The hope Daisy gained from that one flower meant the world to her for a lifetime.
• Alliteration: “fear of a broken promise gleams,” “soft, bold and bright” — This creates a musicality in the poem. For me, this goes hand-in-hand with my own musical training as a child.
• Repetition: The repeated line “Then bursts forth hints of spectacular color,” serves as a refrain, emphasizing the beauty and significance of the Spring Beauty flower. Refrain in this poem is important to me because like “refrain” Spring Beauty flowers return again & again if you nurture them.

Structure: The poem is divided into five stanzas, each with eight lines. The repetition of the eight-line structure creates a sense of order and helps to move the narrative forward.

“Despite the rawness of grief, where an orphaned girl’s tears fall like winter snows in Catawissa, Missouri, Spring Beauty flowers did in fact bloom year-after-year. They whispered promises, carried on the gentlest breeze. Though Daisy’s heart ached, new beginnings lay nestled within the earth in the garden, waiting to be unfurl each spring after that. Thus proving we may carry the weight of loss, but like these Spring Beauty blossoms, our souls too can rise, again & again, renewed by the resilience of life in Mother Nature’s grand plan.“ — Jerilee Wei © 2024