politics divide
but can’t be set aside
when the powerful
tell us we are powerless
then we must stand together
raise our voices
clamor to be heard
truth is more than a word
Copyright 2017 Brenda Davis Harsham
Happy Poetry Friday and thanks to Margaret Simon at Reflections on the Teche for hosting the party. Thanks to Carol Varsalona for letting me use her PF badge.
I was derailed from my plan of writing an I AM poem by the daily hornet’s nest of news stinging me. As I digest the unpalatable, I mourn the death of truth, sting by sting.
hornet’s nest
hidden below orange bloom
toxic stings
Something is fake, but it’s not the news. I appreciate the media for working tirelessly to help us understand and process recent news.
The flower above is a tulip. The one below is a Crown Imperial (Fritillaria imperialis). Tulips originate in Turkey, but came to symbolize Holland. The Crown Imperial is from the Himalayas. We are one, big, tumultuous world. We all are better for the transplanting of ideas, flowers and people.
we persist, blooming
in our patch of sunshine
despite adversity
Copyright 2017 Brenda Davis Harsham
53 thoughts on “Orange News Stings”
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Friendly Fairy Tales 
This is quite beautiful Brenda! Well done.
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Glad you like it. Have a wonderful weekend.
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Reblogged this on By the Mighty Mumford and commented:
BRAVO BRENDA! FLOWERS AND US POETS ARE REAL!!! NO MAATTER WHERE WE ARE FROM! 🙂
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So true.
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Great poem!
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Fantabulous x 3. 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹😎
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Thanks, Dorna!
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“raise our voices
clamor to be heard
truth is more than a word”
The rhyme in these lines gives them the feel of an anthem. Thanks for sharing these blooms. I’ve never seen a tulip like that before!
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It’s a fancy tulip, even for around here. Thanks!
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Your poems are lovely and powerful, Brenda. I especially love the final haiku, and this thought: “We all are better for the transplanting of ideas, flowers and people.”
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I’m glad the state department has lifted the refuge ban. Some good news came out of the week.
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Brenda, your poems are strong and resonate with me. “we persist, blooming”-yes we do. Hopefully our voices are heard. Gorgeous photos.
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Thanks, Carol. He can make some people hate, but most of us don’t.
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“Blooming in our patch of sunshine.” There is plenty of sunshine on this page. Yes, we will persist. Truth will win…someday. I have to believe that. Thanks for this amazing collection of words and flowers.
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Thanks, Margaret. That would have been a better title. Truth Will Win. 🙂
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My grandson’s first birthday is June 3, so I’ll miss the March for Truth. I have plenty of disgruntledness to march from here to forever, so, on June 11 I’ll probably attend the Stronger Together Rally in Boston. And maybe, just maybe, the damning evidence against you-know-who will be too much to ignore and the madness and the marching will stop.
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Happy Birthday to your grandson. My daughter and I might march. I’ll have to start thinking of a sign…. 🙂
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Despite the daily sting of current events, 2 of your 3 poems come across as quite hopeful. Thank you for that, Brenda, and for the gorgeous orange flowers. Like Bridget, I refuse to let that color be tarnished.
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Thanks, Michelle. I wanted to end on a hopeful note because I like to think we will hit bottom and go up the other side. Perhaps we already did.
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Yes, yes, yes! We will bloom IN SPITE OF IT ALL! (And perhaps to spite it all…)
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Yes! The earth is on our side.
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I often find such comfort in nature. When the world seems out of control and filled with darkness, I remind myself that even after the worst storms, the worst winters, the worst fires, green things always come back. It may take a while, and things might look different, but they always come back.
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They come back, they flower and they make even the ugliest ruins beautiful.
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Are these flowers you have NOW? They are gorgeous! We have dandelions…
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Hi Donna, The tulip photo I took a few weeks ago. The Crown Imperial I took last week. Two different neighbors were growing them. I have flowers, but none that are orange. Azalea, vinca, boomerang lilacs. I like things that flower, and I plant more every year. Dandelions have their own charm.
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I love the ‘frilly’ tulips and you’ve made even more beauty of them today, Brenda. “truth is more than a word” & action will continue. It feels like a long, long time since November. Thanks for all your poetic responses.
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Thanks, Linda. We need to support each other through the fatigue of every day, the new normal. We need to take back truth. And keep our friends. XOXO
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Hear, hear. Love your poems, sentiments, and gorgeous photos! I didn’t know tulips originated in Turkey. The sting of the daily news. Journalists are the new heroes.
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Thanks, Jama. We need to speak out against hatred. We need our journalists. They deserve honor and respect not abuse.
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Persist and resist, Brenda! Your poems resonate and your photos remind of the beauty of the color orange (still my favorite color despite you know who). “We all are better for the transplanting of ideas, flowers and people.” – a resounding yes! =)
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Yes! You are my people. Thanks, Bridget. You give me hope.
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I have felt the same way the past few weeks. I’ve found it hard to work on the poems I thought I would write because the news gets in the way. I finally gave in and wrote some more political poems, too. I am clinging to the hope that we will persist in blooming in our own patches of sunshine!
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I’m glad you persisted to the end of the post. We need to remember that we are all blooming. 🙂
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Sometimes you have to write the poem that is clamoring to be heard instead of the one you were planning on (Donna talks about that, too). We’re planning on going to the March for Truth also. Pretty sad that truth needs a march, but that’s where we are!
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It is sad, but it’s not the first time we’ve had to defend truth and speak up for right.
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I would wish news channels would make more of GOOD news. Because good news happens. I liked Irene’s Helen Keller quote (http://poetryteatime.com/blog/poet-interview-irene-latham); ‘Although the world is full of suffering, the world is full of overcoming it.’ #goodnewshappens
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Yes, that is why I tried to end on a good note. A recognition that as far down as we may be taken by the news, we still shine.
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We need a week of nothing but goods news. Heck, at this point, we need a year.
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Yes! And no more terrorist attacks.
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Nice photos and haikus
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Thanks, Derrick!
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Brenda, nicely done with all of these – I especially like the idea of a ‘sting’ beneath the ‘bloom’!
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That was the hardest haiku to write. To boil down the visceral experience of approaching the news every morning.
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i love the title, love your message.
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Thanks, Beth. I believe we will come to the truth again. I hear there will be truth marches June 3.
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Gave me goosebumps. I hear your message loud and clear.
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Thanks, Cindy. I thought of you, actually, even though you are not usually political. Sometimes your posts develop into something more along the way, with your tiny soundbites of text.
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Brenda, that orange tulip is incredible. Great post. Wonderful job.
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Thanks, Gigi. Not much sleep, but satisfying to finally be able to put some of my frustration into words.
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Rich array of images and thoughts on Truth and exchanging ideas Brenda! Stay steadfast at the tiller, Truth marches are coming. I’m participating in the Truth March that’s happening in Chicago, on June 3rd!
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First I’ve heard of them, despite vigilance with the news. I’ll look for one near me. XOXO
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Hope you can find one! I feel like our body presence alone makes a statement and sends a message!
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Yes, I think so, too. Although it’s hard to see what impact the women’s march had.
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