The Water Lily Eyes

 

If I love them it is because of the cacti.
We are of that clan.
My mother, the spine, my siblings raw & prickly.
I am disquised as a water lily and float
in their grand oasis, not apart but sectioned
into whatever they think me to be.
Still imaginary in who I really am.
They are warriors and ragers that climb
taller toward the sun.
They eat themselves and each other and suck
flesh and water from their roots.
When they bloom I move closer and shift
my flowered pad into their line of vision.
I dream of touching them
in the spots that sprout nourishment,
but they are too angry in the heat.
Each believing the desert is a punishment.
Each believing the lily pad is an illusion
Having grown up determined
to cling to the mother spine,
they can see nothing
but the one sun.

Author's Note

the long practice of trying to fit in lament.

Reviews

[Chris]

Lament true... but still quite real.

Chris

[Vinod Kumar U K]

Nice Water Lily...

[Emily B]

ohhhhh . . . you draw pictures that make the little hairs on the back of my neck stand straight up

[arbitrary jane]

first thing: those first two lines.. perfection.

secondly: i agree with Wk. your motif here is watertight (sorry for the pun). your wording is tuned and your ability to break a line in just the right spot is enviable (highly so). not only technically brilliant, but who can't relate to this? 'still imaginary in who i really am' ... so very real.

[The Rock And Roll Cowbo..]

It can be a blessing and curse to be the reliable one. I can relate well to this poem.

[W.k.kortas]

The conceit is tight as a miser's drawstrings, the language pure Venablese. Masterful stuff.

[Greg the Bard]

I was lucky enough to see the water lilies in the national gallery in London. I find this an explanation of the painting. However it is a bit too in depth. At time I get lost n the words. It makes this writing no less wonderful. I like it a lot.

[Robin]

an amazing landscape of contrasts of the heart

[Ed Hart]

oh boy, the poetry fount is wide open