Sunday, April 7, 2013

Sunday Morning Poetry



Tulips
The tulips make me want to paint,
Something about the way they drop
Their petals on the tabletop
And do not wilt so much as faint,

Something about their burnt-out hearts,
Something about their pallid stems
Wearing decay like diadems,
Parading finishes like starts,

Something about the way they twist
As if to catch the last applause,
And drink the moment through long straws,
And how, tomorrow, they’ll be missed.

The way they’re somehow getting clearer,
The tulips make me want to see
The tulips make the other me
(The backwards one who’s in the mirror,

The one who can’t tell left from right),
Glance now over the wrong shoulder
To watch them get a little older
And give themselves up to the light.
~ A.E. Stallings

17 comments:

alexa said...

Such a wonderful image fir this poem ...

Willow said...

Ironically I was really just getting ready to put my fainting tulips outdoors so they can be planted and applauded again next year. Loved that I had found your posted poem by Stallings when I arrived here to visit !
Be Well
Willow

S. Etole said...

Excellent pairing.

GraceGal said...

This poem is beautiful. It makes me want to dig out my poetry from the past and try my hand at it again.
Gorgeous, Relyn.

Tracy said...

*SWOON*... serious big-time swooning over this one--your image and the poem...*sigh*... THANK YOU, Relyn! :o) ((LOVE & HUGS))

Jeanie said...

Amen. The only tulips I see these days are the bulb gardens I buy...but soon, I hope!

Tiffany said...

Very nice poem

Isa Lisboa said...

I think tulips are just magical! :)

Isa Lisboa
=> Instantâneos a preto e branco
=> Os dias em que olho o Mundo
=> Pense fora da caixa

Bella Sinclair said...

Wonderful poem! Your tulip photos are stop-in-your-tracks gorgeous. There is still so much life and beauty in those blooms, even in their twilight moments. I don't think I would have noticed that had it not been for your eyes.

Jeanne said...

Beautiful indeed.
Much love and many blessings
Love Jeanne

Lisa Gordon said...

This is really beautiful, Relyn!

Marilyn Miller said...

Tulips are quite beautiful in each and every stage. Lovely, lovely words and photo.

Jennifer Richardson said...

"and drink the moment through long straws"....dazzling.
i love this beauty you've served up today, Relyn...thank you.
-Jennifer

Jaime said...

There are 6 lovely white tulips on my table right now, all droopy and withering, the petals curling... and still just as lovely as the day I brought them home. :)

Kirsten Steen said...

Oh my...how I do love this poem! A good friend's favorite flower is the tulip and I'm going to have to send this to her. Thank you for sharing this. And thank you for your email. Happy spring and hope all is well with you!
Kirsten

amelia said...

They "do not wilt so much as faint" . . . I love it!

HKatz said...

I love the exquisite purpleness of that photo :)

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