Daffodils

I love to plant bulbs in the fall

I plant daffodils and despair

In the yard on the western slope.

“It won’t be enough,” I tell myself, 

They’ll do their best - they will.

No meandering drifts of a thousand gold eyes 

toward the tiptoeing vernal sun.

Aloof this April and still sparse the next;

I need more time or more bulbs and more toil.

How silly to expect more than its own respectable 

Burst of life from a lowly little bulb.

“The big drifts come from the work I do,” I tell myself,

But that isn’t true, either, and I know it.

Reviews

[Eilis]

Hi, Sean. Welcome to WC. I was excited to discover this poem when I stumbled on it. It has a lovely tension between the labor and the reward, and how we reconcile those things in our minds. Working the land, like working creatively requires a long view and a tenacity. Cultivation and patience. Despair can easily become a side effect of our toils if we become too focused on the end or reward and take our hearts off of the path that gets us there.

Being a gardener myself, and a kind of bumbling one, I can appreciate the sentiment in this very much. I have spent many hours tending the land and planting seeds only to have everything lost when some fluke-ish thing came along and did its work. All there is for it is to wait and try again. I love that aspect of your poem. The push and pull between desire and recognition of what actually comes from the work of our hands. The lessons inherent in these things are far reaching.

But, really, this is just beautifully crafted work. I enjoy the succinctness and the well-chosen details and how it explores both the inner and outer life. Look forward to reading more of your poetry.

[Sean Quinn]

Thank you so much for the very kind words, Eilis. It seems like a great community here and that is was I had hoped to find. Mostly, to read some good work to enjoy and from which to learn. Perhaps, too, to share something here and there that I think is halfway decent or hope to hear feedback about to see where I tend to go wrong.

The struggle between a want for immediate gratification and patiently waiting for the world to work as it does is really why I enjoy gardening so much. It forces me (willing or not) to remember that some things take time in addition to simply work or resources. There is little you can do to rush a garden to maturity. And you’re right - sometimes something comes along and screws up all of your plans anyway.

Thanks again, I really do appreciate the time you took to respond.

[Eilis]

You’re welcome, Sean. It is a great community. If you have any questions about how anything works I’m glad to help. Take care.

[CLR9]

It kinda doesn't matter the work, but what you produce. Pooch is screwed without mad skrilla

[Davidgeo]

Solid writing.

Welcome to the site.