Standard

Posted by

Posted on

December 10, 2014

Posted under

Photography, Poetry

Comments

34 Comments

Evergreen

If you get simple beauty and naught else,
You get about the best thing God invents.

— Robert Browning

Snowflakes on Sage

The
Opposite
Of greening
Must be browning.
Cold settles into fibers
And olive-brown blooms,
Likewise the heart slows,
Older passions fail to flow.
Snow settles on fading green,
Leaves sagging with resignation.
Even the pungent sage withers.
Yet, the possibility of vitality
Withdraws into the roots,
Lingers to bloom again.
But not love – love is
Evergreen.

Copyright 2014 Brenda Davis Harsham

Grow old with me! The best is yet to be.

— Robert Browning, Sage and Poet

Note: This poem is a concrete poem, about leaves, in the shape of a leaf.

34 thoughts on “Evergreen”

  1. This was very well inspired by Browning, with a playful touch to it. I (of course) believe that Love is Evergreen… That is one of my favorite Barbra Streisand songs, too! Smiles, Robin

    Like

    Reply

    • Do you mean Love is the Answer? I looked up the lyrics:

      “Make someone happy
      Make just one someone happy
      Make just one heart the heart you’ll sing to
      One smile that cheers you
      One face that lights when it nears you
      One man you’re everything to”

      I’m delighted to be compared to Barbara Streisand, a true bard of our time. (Lyrics from MetroLyrics) Thanks, Robin. You are the sweetest. Warmly, Brenda

      Like

      Reply

  5. Lovely Shape Poem and play on the Browning name – I do that, it’s an excellent name to play off.

    My last name, Scales, is fun for me to play off too, with the idiom phases “tip the Scales”, and “unbalanced Scales” and “the Scales have fallen from my eyes” and with snake references! As my pseudonymous last name is Scales in Japanese, I can do it much more sneakily without drawing attention to suspected narcissism.

    I’ve heard, or maybe it’s just a vibe I’ve felt, that it’s kind of taboo for good poets to actually play on their own name in their poetry, but I love wordplay more than following unwritten rules, so I write how I want and have a lot of fun with it, as it seems you must have had with this poem of yours.

    I am a somewhat new Robert Browning fan myself, and am more familiar with the work of his wife, but gradually I am exposing myself to more of his, and am really enjoy it!

    Good luck with finishing your novel Brenda, though I am sure you don’t need luck as I know you have skill and a commitment to quality work!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

Comments welcome!

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.