Impermanence
Inside the house they’re tearing down
were frequent bouquets of daisies
picked up at the grocery store
arranged in a blue earthenware pitcher
that at other times held home-brewed iced tea.
The daisies fresh in their bright and yellow
shone forth on the kitchen table
and were refreshed over the week
with long draws of cold water from the kitchen tap.
These daisies if you were to press them
between thumb and index finger would bruise
and leave on your hand a fine yellow powder
that would remain until you rinsed them
under a cold stream at the sink.
18 thoughts on "Impermanence"
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I love the repetition of impermanence in this piece. The home that no longer exists, the flowers that will die and the pitcher of iced tea that will disappear. Gorgeous imagery.
Thanks for getting it. Just wrote it and never sure if it’s going to work, communicate. Guess it does and thanks for that
Yes this poem was so profound with simple images! I loved it!
Thanks Linda
Houses really should be permanent – You paint this loss so well.
Love your paint analogy
Although totally different, your poem calls to mind “The House with Nobody in it.” Houses–and the lives they contain-do not last forever.
Thanks Geri, not familiar with the poem you mention. We have to be continually reminded, don’t we, of impermanence
The ghost of a daisy speaks…This is a subtle poem, a good one!
thanks Linda
An elegy to the family home I shared with my partner of 30 years
Things don’t always last, but memories do. Interesting that you picked the daisies as symbols. Bright and cheerful, they also point to love (she loves me, she loves me not). “Long draws of cold water” very nice, as is the whole poem!
Thanks, Sylvia, this one goes to my heart
Well, I very much love this poem!! Love Sonnet inspired by your being—torn -down home. I love daisies and I especially love the memory of pieces left smashed on your hand, a beautiful analogy of house being eliminated..
Thanks Bev, it’s a meditation on loss and impermanence
This is a really gorgeous poem, keenly felt.
First line caught me: Inside the house they’re tearing down
Word choices colored the joy infused in the home and made even more poignant that it was torn down.
Thanks, Pam