Lacking a dead horse to beat,
I water the garden.
Late August of a very bad summer -
everything is sun scorched
and dry as drought,
but I have a root deep reluctance
to just let go;
wishful thinking is my blind indulgence.
Fall, I say to myself. If we can just hold on till Fall.
Hose in hand,
I watch the water
slant sparkle
against the unforgiving menace
of sun and cloudless sky,
then bounce splash the dead, dormant dirt.
If it would matter,
I would fall to my knees on the parched earth,
dig the tender leavings by hand,
and clasp them to my rainy heart.
If we can just hold on . . .
Inquiry has brought me
only quaint tales and distraction:
Fear not! For the Master Gardener will come
to claim this sad herbarium
and take it to the great utopia in the sky!
You will be left with photographs,
lovely parting gifts in probate,
and granite carved grief!
I grit my teeth
and tighten my grip on the hose.
hold on till Fall.
A Flipside poem for Open Link Night at dVerse.
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
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About Me
- Maude Lynn
- Anybody who has survived his childhood has enough information about life to last him the rest of his days. ---Flannery O'Connor
47 comments:
yep...sometimes it's all about holding on...great metaphor mz
It has been such a dry summer. Poor grass. I hope it can hold on. Water from a hose will make such little difference really. I do hope the mater gardener will work a miracle! Enjoyed this.
oh, the last main stanza is outstanding. Excellent piece. You know, the phraseology with dead horse has been ruined for me by Guns N Roses. Every time I hear it I think to that song. lol Just thought I'd mention that piece of useless information for amusement lol
I can so identify with this--and no drought here, either--I've just got a "brown" thumb (and everything I try to grow turns to sh*t.)
Great metaphor ! Good write!
Hmm... something deep about this. Maybe more to it than watering a dying garden. Lovely imagery though. Hope the watering helped it to make a come back too!
Lovely piece MZ
LMFAO!
That has to be the greatest two opening lines i've ever read.
But then, you turn reflective, contemplative, tender, and suddenly i become the small toad under your fountain, contemplating with you.
Loved the slant sparkle
A rainbow fit for a toad
Rick
Holding on till fall..This is lovely MZ ~
Yes...love those first two lines..something too tells me of more than just dying, parched grass going on here...
This is really, really beautiful, MZ, and very moving! Again I'm amazed at your wonderful talent with words! Thank you!
Holding on in the face of adversity is rewarding and expected.Nice write MZ!
Hank
Wonderfully written - though so sorry for the terrible drought. k.
Wonderful write--many of us a holding on till fall in our rainy hearts--I love your work!
Excellent metaphor! I can so relate to your poem :)
hoping fall gets here soon enough...but then again we will be feeling the drought well into the next year...in our lives...and pocketbooks...nice touch on the granite relief as well and its allusions...
Wow! You got me with this, fantastic :) Hope you don't get hose pipe bans where you are.
Definitely got to hold onto that hose!
"my rainy heart"
that's just damn fine phrasing.
Your opener is fantastic! What a hook; great poem.
Don't give up. I wish I had given mine even a thimble a day. Knowing they have a place in heaven is no recompense. Hold on to that life raft hose, dead horse or no. What you have, to mock the naysayers is stubborn hope, ferocious faith. You are not alone.
Awesome opening. I am letting my garden die.
Histrionic, humorous and hold on it's only a month away. Loved it, Mosk
Such a diverse and intriguing opening. You had me from the start!
You're right, pleading and clasping just doesn't work--it's all about time and change, which are pretty magic.
I'm so ready for fall.
You can have our rain, it's currently super flooded here from the hurricane that just brushed its way through...
wishful thinking can at times be a good "blind indulgence" dig your write
great metaphor ~ all you can do sometimes is 'hold on' - no matter how fragile the grip - x Lib
Keep holding on... it'll be here before we know it.
Holding on until... As sad as it is, it seems that this is the way we spend so much of our time. My grip on the garden hose is so tight it howls in pain. Good thing there's no horse...
Your first 2 lines had me shouting "Yes!" Opening lines are known to make or break a poem. The rest was just gravy on the main course. I love your work O poet.
"Lacking a dead horse to beat,
I water the garden." ... Sounds like a wise alternative. I wonder about the fixation you're trying to distract yourself from---what you're inclined to "beat a dead horse" about.
These are my favorite:
"I have a root deep reluctance
to just let go"
"wishful thinking is my blind indulgence"
"I watch the water
slant sparkle"
"bounce splash the dead"
"Inquiry has brought me
only quaint tales and distraction"
"I grit my teeth
and tighten my grip on the hose."
I really like the rhyme of grief/teeth used in the closing.
Great job, MZ. Thanks for playing again. :)
I love the first lines... you are preaching to the choir...
Hose in hand,
I watch the water
slant sparkle
against the unforgiving menace
of sun and cloudless sky...
Yes, yes, I will remember... if I can only hold on
your first line is simply perfect-and the rest really does hold it together
tightening the grip on the hose, is there more than one meaning to that? in this male-dominated world?
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great turns of word and metaphor the whole of it felt good
I love the way you begin this! I am hooked immediately.
Sometimes we hold on until the hose runs dry. The climate catastrophy seems offstage here. Perhaps the speaker does not know that even fall may be a dry wind with fire and destruction, and we have changed the world forever...
Excellent piece, I'm still on the fence about if this is about a lawn or something deeper and emotional. The last stanza caught me off guard, but so beautiful that it worked well, like that bit of salty in a pot of sweet.
Mama, great use of metaphor throughout this. Lack of rain is disastrous. Wish I could some of ours your way.
Pamela
Oh man. Your first two lines made me smile, but then the whole thing went deeper, and it's really just an excellent bit of writing.
Trying to hold on over here, too.
Holding on in Italy in hotter heat than usual. I wrote it about it, too, and so admire what how you spun this one.
Hold on. I've wanted to let go many a time. Great poetry.
yep...tie a knot in the end of the rope...er...hose...and hang on!
"but I have a root deep reluctance
to just let go"
i am in love with this... real-life truth becoming perfect metaphor...
yes i feel this
Our summer has mostly been the opposite, though just now it's lovely. I feel sympathy for all you drought gardeners, and this poem is full of care for the plants. Fall is an interesting word for a European: a different feeling from our Autumn
In this world you will have trouble, so says the master gardener. And, he didn't lie.
(we're going to pay for this summer with a much higher food bill this year. It's gonna be tough.)
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