One winter too many

Reflecting on mum's passing...briefly

Spring was now only a change in wind direction away
as winter slowly petered out.
Snow drops and daffodils appeared overnight
emerging colourfully from the thawing earth,
a thousand yellow and white heads nodding in a cold, swaying breeze.
Above, reaching skywards, life could be seen birthing from grey, barren branches
upon which newly formed choirs heralded the dawning day,
a chorus of birdsong echoing through fog heavy air.


In a quiet, cold, now unoccupied apartment,
flower filled vases sat on tables, sideboards, cills,
each bouquet containing a love filled note,
mothers day wishes.
It seemed ironic that these beautiful flowers, picked to die,
would outlive the recipient,
this being one winter too many for her ill and ageing body to bare.

Reviews

[S.zaynab.kamoonpury]

Aw a creatively touching awesome poem , sentimental and beautiful you ought to have it enframed. Kudos for this tribute to her. Warm condolences.

Plz pleez do read and comment my newest poem too.

[Gee]

Thank You...

[Davidgeo]

Sad. Well written... but, sad.

Such is life. Good memories require a certain amount of sadness.

[Gee]

Aye, there are folk that I know who will paas and I will bat not an eyelid.
Hope you are keeping well.
Thanks for suffering :))

[Robert Trakofler]

I new from the title of course that this was going to be a sad write but the starting imagery wasn't I love how this gently flowed into thoughts about your moms passing and I do think about that all of the time at funerals all the flowers the beauty of them will wither after the recipient has been laid to rest... A somber note but the beauty of those flowers will resonate in memory long after they have withered... as will your mothers memory in you

[Gee]

Thank you Robert, so appreciate your visits.
Hope you are keeping safe and well

[barleygirl]

Becuz of your heart-heavy title, even tho the first 2/3 describes a joyful unfolding of spring, I was feeling impending doom as I read the flowery imagery. All this, but not this -- a between-lines refrain for me, but still I couldn't have imagined a more dramatic & irresistible way to express the letdown at the end of your poem (last line -- brilliant -- & the lead-in -- very powerful). Altho I read your poem as a personal statement of your grief, I also see it as a reminder of all those who've succumbed to covid, most being old & dying alone. It's a wonder to be remembered as fervently as you remember your mum, especially when so many deaths are barely acknowledged these days! Your writing on this topic just gets better & better (((HUGS))) Fondly, Margie

[Gee]

I smiled at your “ impending doom” :))
Just for the record I am yet to sit and think “ right, I’m gonna write a poem about mum”
All that I’ve written is spur of the moment, off the cuff stuff penned always when the family is still akip in bed. I hope that my writing doesn’t come across as pre planned, turgid,( if that right) or words written solely for “effect”
As always thank you for reading me and leaving a great review. You are appreciated more than you know.
Take care

[Cyprian Van Dyke]

Sorry for your loss. Your emotion is felt in this wrote and points you make are sharp, and they can never be too sharp under the topic of death. Beautifully explained and expressed. Tyfs

[Gee]

Thank you CVD

[CheekyChoco]

I love the word choice and concrete imagery, and above all, the stylistic choice not to include any rhymes, which intensifies and gives credence to the upsetting theme. Perhaps it is wanting of a third stanza, but it could be argued that the uneven structure further encapsulates the intended message, expressing the frustration of how things are ordered and arranged. Overall, the poem is refreshing to read.

[Gee]

Thank you kindly

[Lydia Shutter]

Heartbreaking emotions in this one, Gee. The change in attitude from the first stanza to the second is a slap in the face....powerful! Honest poetry....the good kind. Lydi**

[Gee]

Thank you Lydia. Tis "easier" to write about mums passing 18 months down the line :(

[Patricia Wedel]

dearest Gee... a beautiful Daffodil eulogy to your Mother.. the soft yellow silk petals that billow through eternity. A Winter that was spent in discontent where Angels fluttered on gossamer wings... and then the Spring when her Spirit soared like a tender Rose above the Earth’s atmosphere... truly breathless poetry.
gently, Pat

[Gee]

Thank you for your kind words Patricia

[Coyote Poetry]

A very sad poem shared my friend. After my grandfather left us. I cut pieces of his rose bushes. Now his rose bushes surround my home. The simple things. Allow us to remember the people we loved. I am sorry for lost my friend.
Coyote

[Gee]

That's a beautiful thing to do, a memory that is visible every day.
Thank you for your condolences Coyote.
Hope you are i see well.
Thank you

[Gee]

Hope you are keeping well

[Coyote Poetry]

I am doing fine and you are welcome my friend.

[Lorry]

In the numbness of loss, all we can do is notice the changes around us and keep thinking it's something else they'll never see. Even with noise, these thoughts feel like a silent film reel playing, with us left feeling the hollowache in every sight in a disjointed way, almost outwith ourselves. It isn't so strange when you think that although we are wholly us, we will always be half them too, to those who birthed and raised us.
Seasons come and go, s**t happens, yet the connection between the two never fails or dissipates, always running in the background. You wouldn't be you without it Gee. Or her.
Thedaffs resonated with me too, the unexpected flash of colour that signals rebirth can have a profound effect on our numbed senses, perhaps through our over-use of emotions that won't switch off.
Your last line shouts from the page and the audience nods in agreement.

[Gee]

Aye, we are large parts of them. I've inherited mums nose down arse up work ethic, wit(many would disagree) and a refusal to suffer fools at all.
Thanks for a great review Lorry, your visits are much appreciated.
Hope all is well in the frozen North :)