Garden Of Our Desire
Hello after a slightly prolonged absence. Life is busy at the moment, but let’s hope I find time to scribble words from time to time. Anyway, Claudia at dVerse has invited folk to write a poem about a garden or gardening, whether real or imaginary.
I chose to take the imaginary route. I had the line “rose tinted days” in my mind before reading the prompt, and ran with it. It became a bit more melancholy than expected, but I like the hope at the end of the tunnel. Go check out the other fantastic poets who have written garden poems this week
I begged your pardon
Sat in the garden
Of our desire
When found a liar
Your heart did harden
We lived in a haze
Of rose tinted days
Our love was too great
We realised too late
Our hearts were ablaze
From fire comes ash
Burning love did flash
Our passion consumed
We were always doomed
We were far too rash
We planted the seed
In mutual need
Watching our love grow
But it came to show
That seed was a weed
Rooted in your lies
Blooming with my lies
Rose forming night-shade
Our hearts were betrayed
By each others cries
Yet ash gives new life
Despite all the strife
From desolation
Comes consolation
Despite our past strife
I hope that you know
Both our gardens grow
The mess that we made
Fertilised the glade
That each of us sow
Hope you enjoy, please feel free to comment
The Lonely Recluse
So beautiful and poignant. I love the ending, it shows how even if the garden is full of weeds, one can still grow from it and what it once was. Very mesmerizing imagery, and I loved this especially:
“Rooted in your lies
Blooming with my lies
Rose forming night-shade
Our hearts were betrayed
By each others cries”
Just the pain in this stanza alone, and how the betrayals were mutual. Wow. Such stunning writing, and it’s emotional. ❤
Thank you for such a kind comment. It was definitely a poem I felt should end in hope, we grow and learn from the hard times. I once read an article about an arboretum that was struggling, all the trees kept falling down. The realised that there was no wind, and the trees were only giving shallow roots. They introduced fake wind, sure enough the trees grew well from the struggle.
Anyway, again thank you for the kind comment, I am glad you enjoyed the poem
I love the rose-tinted days, the heat burned to ash and the positive ending. Awesome.
I was in part inspired by the Aboriginal Australian peoples’ practices of burn time – controlled burns that increase the fertility of the land (and stop more serious wildfires). The idea that from such ruin new life emerges still is such a hopeful thing and I wanted to capture that when I realised that fire was going to be a player in this poem. Glad you enjoyed it
Nice one
Happy Tuesday
Much💜love
Glad you enjoyed it, thanks for the comment
Good story, nicely composed.
Enjoyed the rhyme scheme.
Thanks for the comment, glad you enjoyed it
I have ‘lived’ your garden. Cheers!
I hope you have lived the new life, fertilised by the crap that went before (amazing how good a fertiliser crap is). Thanks for the comment
it is sad when that relationship garden wilts and suffers but great when new life sprouts from the ash
Everything has its season. And when the old fertilises the new, we can look back on the memories and smile (I hope). Thanks for the comment, and thank you for hosting
What a beautiful description of the way some gardens grow!
It’s just a shame that they grow the way they do, though I suppose that without decay there is no nutrient rich soil. Thanks for the comment
I loved this, and this particular stanza has got to be my favorite!
❤
David
I really felt that there had to be hope at the end of this piece, the burntimes of the Aboriginal Australian peoples inspired the from ash to life image. I think I agree with you about that being my favourite stanza. Glad you enjoyed it, thanks for the kind comment
I realy like the wisdom in the ending of this poem, when suffering is past and it is viewed as sustenance for the two beings who continue on much the wiser.
To put it in less poetic terms, without crap there is no fertiliser. It’s a shame that some relationships seem to be destined to be solely fertiliser, and some of the worst never get that far, but I hope that it shows there is hope even from bad experiences. Glad you enjoyed the poem
Oh I love this… though it is a tragic story, the garden metaphor really work … the roses turn night-shade was an excellent line.
Tragic, but hopeful (I hope). I was a bit unsure about “Rose forming night-shade”, I felt like I wanted a few more syllables to make a better sentence, so thank you for the confirmation that it belongs.
I do really like this, strikes close to home after a kind and prolonged and messy discussion with my ex-wife. The mess that we made, fertilized the glade- brilliant. that is true, the messes and tugh times make us how we are, they are part of what feeds us, but there is peril.
I’ve mentioned Australian Aboriginal peoples’ burntime ceremonies a few times above, as well as the fact that crap becomes fertiliser. I was also intrigued to learn that (responsible) foresters leave all the wood smaller than a certain size on the ground around the stump of the felled tree. This wood rots and fertilises the soil it used to shade. Our pasts have the potential of enriching our presents and our futures, even the crap, or the leftovers of felled trees (certainly there is a risk that, rather than fertilise we can poison ground, or just spread weeds, but I’ll focus on the positive =P). I hope that your glade is richly and safely fertilised. Thank you for your comment
so sweet 🙂
Your comment brought to mind this powm of mine, I promise I will not endlessly spam you, only a little 😉
https://lonagynt.wordpress.com/2021/03/13/btt-31-2-a-death-in-the-wild/
Fascinating rhyme form, and well writte — though bittersweet… 🙂
Looking back, it’s the same rhyme aabba rhyme scheme as a limerick, although the metre is different. Glad you enjoyed it
This is incredibly poignant! Especially like; “Rooted in your lies/Blooming with my lies/Rose forming night-shade/Our hearts were betrayed/By each others cries/Yet ash gives new life/Despite all the strife.”💝💝
Thank you for your kind comment. I wanted to keep both the reality of the way some relationships go, but also the hope that new things can grow from the ruins of the old. Glad you enjoyed it