Dry Harvest
What are you whispering in the sunflower's ear
That the mockingbirds come to swallow her screams
For dinner?
What are you whispering in the sunflower's ear
That crisps and draggles her lemon rays into sienna curls
By noontide?
Will you call me out as I carry the days
Hungry from sunrise to seed set?
Will you call me out as I harry the rays
From glory to twists of regret?
What are you whispering in the sunflower's ear
While clouds spit & polish the afternoon, tearing themselves
Into rags?
What are you whispering in the sunflower's ear
About old light, evening, cheap slippers and dancing
Til myth-night?
Will you call me out as I carry the tales
Bitter as mildew and pollen?
Will you call me out as I ferry the wails
Where the seeds haven't fallen?
Today's bizarre battle with nonsense is my brain's insistence that "peanut butter" is one word. Despite spell check. I may have to just...consume more peanut butter until I can spell it properly. Maybe in cookie form. Meanwhile, I'm trying to decide whether to leave the sunflower heads on the plant (which is definitely done for the year) or cut them and place them around the yard for the birds. The last time we had sunflowers they were a different variety, didn't collapse under their own weight, and provided the birds better purchase for getting to the seeds. I'm feeling a tinge of social deprivation...the birds help. Maybe I can convince them to come have sunflowers while I have coffee in the morning. :)
-- Chrissa
As always, you've made magic with imagery, wordplay, and metaphor-rich inquiries. The 4th and 5th stanzas are brilliant, and speak to me of fairy tales in a language that I understand. I always thought those slippers were questionable.
ReplyDeleteIf the birds can't get to the seeds easily, and having them happy and chirpy makes you happy, then definitely do what you must to five them easier reach. My bird feeder is right in front of my window. And I love seeing the birds all day.
Peanutbutter (in your face, spell check!).
Your metaphors are brilliant. As for spell check, I recently wrote a piece of nonsense full of anywhens and somewhens and coined words and spell check was determined to separate them! I fully understand the peanutbutter dilemma.
ReplyDeleteI see some jealousy here, "What are you whispering in the sunflower's ear..." Reminds me of "What are you wearing, Jake?"
ReplyDeleteI eat an eighteen ounce jar of peannutbutter a week. Ad the word to your dictionary any do as you please. PB is to settle my stomach with my three times a day med mix. Some times I add blackberry jam on the top saltine. Or Nutella.
..
I am enchanted by how you've repurposed your line to this image rich piece. Maybe the sunflowers are falling down on themselves because they've been hearing about all the things they're missing out on. A little bit like humans, slumping a bit as they think of all the things that could be going on now, but aren't.
ReplyDeleteWith or without the sweet notes, this is beautiful and haunting. I love that you've taken your own line and used it in a completely new way.
ReplyDeleteI love your poem and its whimsicality..Scatter ye sunflowerseeds while ye may!!!
ReplyDeleteI love the repeated line, Chrissa, and the way you track the sunflower’s short life, going through its cycle from the crisp and draggle of her ‘lemon rays into sienna curls’ to the ‘tales / Bitter as mildew and pollen’. I particularly enjoyed:
ReplyDelete‘…clouds spit & polish the afternoon, tearing themselves
Into rags’
and the fairy tale allusion to the Twelve Dancing Princesses in:
‘…old light, evening, cheap slippers and dancing
Til myth-night’.
Bravo bravo
ReplyDeleteMuch💝love
Sunflowers must be the wise old sage of flowers - they entrance me. Your poem has some gorgeous phrases and word play "myth-night" sigh.
ReplyDeleteCarry the tales, ferry the wails...Margaret Mahy would have liked this. (As do I.)
ReplyDelete