The exercise:
Would you like a touch of randomness with your prompt today? Yes? Excellent. Here it is then: Ella's flower garden.
And here are some pictures that I took Sunday morning at Queen Elizabeth Park to help inspire you:
Mine:
She would rise before the sun,
A smile dimpling her cheeks,
And she’d move about the house
Upon bunny-slippered feet.
The tea kettle on the stove
Whistled a familiar tune
While Ella prepared breakfast
And serenaded the moon.
Her mug of steaming green tea
Would join her in the garden,
Where she’d extract weeds with
A whispered, “Beg your pardon!”
The roses would turn her way,
Convinced her warmth was the sun,
While the daisies seemed to laugh
When her handiwork was done.
If rain should escape the clouds
Before Ella’s work was through,
She’d sit in the gazebo
And practice singing the blues.
But her heart wasn’t in it,
She knew the dark skies would pass;
So she’d survey her flowers
And think them nature’s stained glass.
That's an elegiac little poem! It's very sweet, and suggests a well-loved and tended garden: your Ella must be a nice person. I think the only criticism I have is that occasionally the scansion seems a little off (the last line of the fifth verse for example, seems to have an extra syllable). But that's a very small point.
ReplyDeleteThe photograph's are lovely, too.
Ella's Flower Garden
Mrs. Minh grew roses,
And Daphne grew bright weeds,
But Ella's precious flower garden,
Always grown from seeds,
Only grew nasturtiums,
Which met all of Ella's needs.
She ate the flowers as they grew,
And pickled unripe pods,
She loved the passing butterflies,
And gave them little nods,
She loved her bright nasturtiums,
And often thanked the gods.
Ella's flower garden was a joy to behold
ReplyDeleteFull of poppies, primroses, marigold.
Ella's flower garden was a sight to see,
Covering her skin, every inch, you'll agree.
Inspired by Heinlein and his tattooed woman in Stranger in a Strange Land.
Greg - thanks! And yeah, I had to read it a bit funny to make everything work but I had to get back to work before I could clean it up :P
ReplyDeleteYours has a nice little rhythm to it and I quite enjoyed reading it out loud.
Morganna - that last line was a great little surprise. And the poem as a whole paints quite the picture too :)