Little beauty to be found
in the contents of an upturned barrow
just the weeds and dead ends
of summer’s final sighs
Our wheel, once punctured, now wobbled
the metal eaten by rust and rot
as rain water and a hot bake
came and went, and came and went
The water poured and in the breaks
it turned to fine wine, quenching
and soothing the fire lilies
brightening their tangerine blooms
Now and then the weeds returned
angrier until the clouds burst and
settled, together we cleared the decks
one last time, knowing it was done
As the heat returned I noticed again
beads of dew collected in the small of your back
the patch on your chest where I lay when
I’m vulnerable. I breathe in summer and you
Written for the Summer inspired Poetics prompt over at dVerse Poets
A really pretty poem here. The turning from wheelbarrow to back and chest of lover; the sunbaked to the vulnerable and parched. Very nice. k.
Thank you and thanks for the prompt!
Ah, your photo reminds me of a wheel barrow I once had. It spent the whole winter upside down under a tree…but it was plastic, not metal, so it didn’t rust. I really loved the feelings you expressed in the last stanza!
Thanks Mary, lovely to see you.
nice how you turn the old barrow into a metaphor for love and life and all the fragile things along the way
Thanks Claudia, yes it has been quite symbolic sitting in the garden for a year or so, but it finally went to the rubbish tip the other day along with all those weeds!
Beautifully done!
Love how you crafted this. Exquisite.
Thank you Susan, so kind of you x
i breathe in summer and you…really lovely intimate end to this…really cool journey as well from the wheel barrow and nice touch as well from water to wine….good stuff…
Thanks Brian. Honestly I struggled a bit tonight, the brief was wide open and there for the taking but after such a uninspiring summer here I was a bit lost for words.
So lovely ~ to find something as mundane as a wheelbarrow and make such a creative poem is marvellous
Thank you Polly, much appreciated x
Such a tender scene with the final stanza – beautiful. Kathleen
Thank you Kathleen, very kind of you to visit and comment,so glad you enjoyed it.
I love the picture! Sometimes It’s the simplest things that bring beauty and inspiration.
Awww….you soppy git. I really like the image and se of the wheelbarrow- and now you say it- tthere have been so many times when I’ve seen those dried up bits in the bottom..and it has made me think of summers past- or the turning of the seasons- the part about the water in the breaks turning to wine was fantastic…Weeds- weeds always grow and life always goes on…and love? Well that’s a brucy bonus (I wonder if any of our US friends know what a brucy bonus is?)
Ha ha… good game good game… me and Brucey mentioned in the same paragraph, my work here is done! This one wasn’t just sweet summer though, more a metaphor for an unsettled year or two. I tried to be a little bit clever see… but that was my first mistake!
You know what – re-reading it- I missed a trick…the weeds returning? The punctured wheel…ok..I missed this! My bad….totally get it now- damn you stupid eyes and brain!
What’s wrong with you.. Of all the people I expected to see past the barrow… Well I must say I’m very disappointed. Must try harder Stu.. Tut tut.
You wouldn’t imagine a poet could get sensuousness out of a wobbly wheelbarrow full of weeks, but you do here and it’s beautiful. Makes me almost want to start gardening!
Thank you Hollyanne xx
There’s a wider analogy about time catching up with us here…. we live in a world where the barrows are sweeping pout the weeds and one day,t he weeds will sweep out the barrow.
Thank you Seb, glad you found something more in this, and you are right there are broader meanings to be found.
I like this very much, especially the opening and this line: “beads of dew collected in the small of your back” … Such a soft and surprising ending. One typo though, in the last line … “breath” should be “breathe.”
You are absolutely right, I will correct that now. Thank you for your kind comment also, really pleased you enjoyed it.
i read this slowly…and re read it….letting it sort of roll on the palate of my tongue …giving it time to seep in…..and once it did….somehow it evoked thoughts about the cracks in our lives…relationships loves and what not and how its the fault lines that eventually add those wrinkles to life….nicely done !
annd and whatnot…
And that is exactly what I was hoping for, thank you for giving it time to melt in.
this was really an exceptional piece. Nice feel to the overall tone, the way it flowed, the metaphoric theme and just really a nice all around piece. Thanks
Thank you as ever, it is always so nice to have you visit and read your well thought comments.
Love how the poem transforms into the heat of closeness – a positive heat! Beautiful!
Thank you Gemma, really pleased you found the heat of some summer sun in there…
Nice switch between the barrow and the man with the imagery and feelings interchanged
wonderful sweeps you through with feeling
Lovely. Thank you.
Another beautiful piece of poetry! Very nice!
Absolutely beautiful…..the sultry move from the earth to a lover is superb……….. Reminds me of a song I love ~
“I envy the rain
That falls on your face
That wets your eyelashes
And dampens your skin
And touches your tongue
And soaks through your shirt
And drips down your back
I envy the rain.”
Absolutely perfect, Vanessa. ~ Love, Bobbie
Ooh that’s nice, I didn’t know that one. Thanks Bobbie x