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The Seed - for Michelle Angelini
by Kristina Woodhilltoday i gleaned a seed for you
in autumn's gently fading light
my fingers felt its smooth and round
that held its spring within so tight
i pondered at its hidden gift
i wondered if i had the right
to take it from this fertile ground
to store it through the winter's night
what bird in harried pecking search
what mouse in hunger's constant fight
beneath the soon arriving snow
would find this seed a feast's delight
what breeze - young, blustering and bold
its bitter chill unfurling might
perhaps sent as uplifting wings
to spread this seed far from this site
and there a scorched world it could change
and there replace a desert's plight
and so my fingers i unclenched
my hand i raised and opened wide
and held the seed there now exposed
and let fate's teeth now take its bite
i held as autumn's burnished leaves
turned tawny on the browning grass
i held while peanut brittle crunched
and Christmas nog in cups was passed
i held as flakes around me swirled
as skaters' voices yelled and laughed
as icy rinks formed figure eights
where couples' hands held warm love's clasp
and still i held as winter's earth heaved
shrugging off its blanket white
then exhaled into fickle spring
that melts our hearts then frosts our minds
and i, unloosed, expectantly
gazed on my hand, warmed by the sight
the seed I had gleaned just for you
remained
my gift for you, my friend, so kind
01/12/2008
Author's Note: For Michelle, who wrote the Fertile Garden for me. How very kind - you make my garden grow even in winter.
Posted on 01/12/2008
Copyright © 2024 Kristina Woodhill
| Member Comments on this Poem |
| Posted by A. Paige White on 01/12/08 at 09:08 PM A beautiful exchange of hearts between two poets... gone to seed in the best of growth while growing is gleaned. Absolutely gorgeous Kristina! What a precious gift for Michelle. |
| Posted by George Hoerner on 01/12/08 at 09:22 PM Very nicely done Ms K. I love it. We should all pay as much attention to each other. |
| Posted by Michelle Angelini on 01/12/08 at 09:54 PM I'm so deeply honored by this beautiful poem for me. Each line and thought settles in me like the seasons' never-ending cycle. I love this so much. Here's a toast to the Garden Lady! ;-) I'm putting this one in my favorites.
~Chelle~ |
| Posted by Rhiannon Jones on 01/13/08 at 12:15 AM Magnifique! Somehow, this makes me think of Sarojini Naidu's "Cradle Song"...a poem I love, and this one too. |
| Posted by Brian Francis on 01/13/08 at 03:21 AM Awesome. Your work is so consistently wonderful. Thank you for sharing it here.
--bf |
| Posted by Kathleen Wilson on 01/14/08 at 07:13 AM Amazing, beautiful sentiment and crafted, lyrical elegant verse. A tribute, a gift to Michelle.. and moreover... a tribute to the possibilities of heart's connection through this beautiful place, (our community) where the inside of one mind's imagination can be seeded into another's garden. |
| Posted by Maria Terezia Ferencz on 03/19/10 at 11:07 PM I love this one, I lived through every season in the timespace of minutes....smelled the leaves seen the colors and felt the soil...amazing! |
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