Girl With Spring In Her Belly~

When I was little I ate flowers

 

Roses found themselves on my tongue

petal by petal

chrysanthemums singed my bow lips with pollen

my smile was Cheshire

a belly full of sunshine

 

When I was little I was scolded for eating flowers

Father said I was enchanted mad enough as it was

no need to push the envelope of sanity

while the handmaid bawled I would die

from eating flowers

and it was that dread warning I remembered

when

in a foreign garden

on a lonely spring day

I ate every bloom

in an alien garden

waiting for the rains to drown me

but all I got for my troubles

was a lousy hospital gown

with an open back

a proper scolding

and a herb garden for my windowsill

a deterrent

which worked

until the next spring

when a rose decided to bloom

in a container of chocolate mint

I named her Paradox

bit her wit from the stem

grew wise

a lot more cheeky

and tad more impossible

for which all I got was a lousy t shirt

with ‘Rutgers Mental Health Center’ in blue

above the left breast pocket

 

I used to eat flowers when I was a little girl

now I keep them in a vase next to little blue pills

I never touch

and a glass of water I pour into the vase

each night

 

 

copyright:2010vssmd/amusemusepress

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Author's Note

~medicating idiosyncracies~numbing down a nation~ destroys its capacity for expressive enchantment~ who is to say what is normal and what is abnormal~ how convenient to label everything a behavioural disorder to the point where everyone believes it and everyone is sweetly numb and going with epic lemming flow over the cliffs~

Reviews

[nono]

Very nice, I wrote a poem like this. Only it has to do with ADHD. One time this kid in my class said "I think I have ADHD, and then he said wait. is that the learning disability one?" And I wanted to yell at him for that, i understand not knowing, but i hate it when people just act out, because they want to be sick. ADHD isn't the hardest thing to live with but it isn't the easiest thing either don't get me wrong, but when you get older it turns into something else. A fantastic write, because I can relate taking a pill everyday because no one wants to deal with you bouncing off the walls while your miserable and people can't even understand...Thank you. An amazing write, and it really kept me going reading this!! Keep up the great work!

[KatiePie]

Every word that you write drips with a passion the world craves. The things that hinder us from experiencing the glorious wonder of this world, what gives those pills the right to do that to anyone? I mean sure they've got the drugs, but we've got the will. This piece reminds me of the beauty of life, and how its forgotten far to often.

[Intern'l Shultzfeather]

This is one that has stayed with me.

[Tina Kline]

Yes, the pills destroy a person's ability to enjoy all that life has to offer, they only think they are enjoying life because they are told these pills will do that. Love your poem on this subject, its brilliant!

[ice]

lunar deity
Authurs note is perfect....."a glass of water I pour into the vase
each night",. :) indeed, well done......ice

[Lydia Blackwell]

Oh! I love this one, Selene! It's so brilliant in so many ways. I totally agree withyour foot note. There are too many restrictions in life with OUT good reason! Most adults are so busy, they buzz along at their break-neck paces and label everything that gets in the way of their destinations as "Improper or wrong or tiresome" Where is the positive spin? It is always negative. I really love this poem!

[Crowley]

Nobody can lay down a picture of societies ills like you can...you are absolutely right in asking this question and I believe with my heart we all know the answer...great job, you always cut me with that razor or a mind.

[emmajoy]

Nobody is truly normal or abnormal .. it depends on how individuals juggle their spirits, genes, or - whatever!

So you ate flowers, just as you ate and eat experiences, tasting everything that's there to be tasted, tried, retained or discarded .. and those precious nibbles that saw you hospitalised, you've used them for the moment, for the now, in your wonderful writing ..

This reached me, made me smile, think: 'when a rose decided to bloom~ in a container of chocolate mint~ I named her Paradox~ bit her wit from the stem
grew wise~ a lot more cheeky~ and tad more impossible~ for which all I got was a lousy t shirt~ with ‘Rutgers Mental Health Center’ in blue~ above the left breast pocket# ...

are you sure it was the left pocket - amazing?!

[Emily B]

I ate flower petals once at a fancy tea. Didn't care much for the taste but thought it was something I ought to try once. Tried the leaves off the chicory weeds in my yard once, too. That was bitter stuff.

[Ron]

How true Selene, I have been there done that. I was lucky enough to find a counselor that became , over the years like a father to me. The one thing he said was he did not believe in labeling people!! You poem was delightful and to the point and how dangerous it is out there when we try to say whats normal or abnormal. I'm not a critic of writers and dont pretend to be. However I do enjoy reading your writings. I love people who are real and dont layer our lives with sweet frosting. I enjoyed this poem .Thanks for sharing you gift with world. Ron

[Rouillie Wilkerson]

I almost didn't respond to this, wanting to think my experience-having done the same thing as a little girl-unique. Only I didn't make it to the hospital, a latchkey kid, looking out for herself. I lay on the side of the house, looking at the neighbors selection of flowers untouched, tasted, experienced, with longing, in agony, in and out of consciousness with a fragrant bubbling leaking from the corners of my mouth. In otherwords, I can relate. Thanks for the memory.