Petunias
Years have passed
like torrents of mud
Still, I’m streaked
with your residue
despite of wasting so much
time trying to wash off
You are a transparent thread
raveling away from my seams
but you persist, little strand.
Maybe not a waste. Maybe—
failed launch, fizzled
firecracker
I don’t regret the silly start,
the dumb decision
Carry on, complicated divorce!
Welcome any weak attempt
at a botched connection,
any ritual that confirms
freedom to fall flat
on my face. Seize the day!
My heart sings for all its worth,
hymns for my fiascos
In the caked mud of my missteps
I’ll plant blue petunias
11 thoughts on "Petunias"
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the last two stanzas knock me out!
That last line is saving grace. This poem captures life’s transitions, and we all need the healing power of “blue petunias.”
Wow. A different voice for you—
Looking back, looking forward… you are on the move as a poet, darlin. Something’s coming.
I love this heroic and defiant and passionate poem!!!
Singing your strength with beauty!
“hymns for my fiascos” – yes!
Shew! “You are a transparent thread/raveling away from my seams”
Singing with you! “My heart sings for all its worth,
hymns for my fiascos/In the caked mud of my missteps /
I’ll plant blue petunias.”
Hymns for my fiascos! yes!
I think I’ll write some for mine.
“Hymns for my fiascos” caps this celebration of life lived with both success and failure, celebrating both!
love the evolution from “torrents of mud” to soil in which to plant petunias
Planting something beautiful in the mud of our missteps is the opposite of wallowing in self-pity. Making the best of it all–without shame, learning from it and carrying on. At least my interpretation. Very well done!
I agree with Mike Wilson.
These couplets zing..