There is No Need to Water a Wilted Flower Garden

There is no need to water a wilted flower garden…

The grass was so much greener when

the lilies stood tall against the roses

pink buds blooming on the vine

the scent of violets and lavender

wrapping me in a plume of a thousand beautiful things

 

Lush gardens and you

holding the heart of my heart

light as the breeze brushing my neck

kissing my cheek

with secrets of days to come

 

as my mind wandered among the butterflies

 

Who opened the venetian blinds

and let time in?

It wasn’t ours to fight against

 

And now, you are nothing but a haunting sunset

in the beauty of a vulnerable sky

while I’m left with the stars pulling my hair…

neurotic, destructive, fiery, dangerous, unrestrained

 

To hell, to hell with it…

 

There is no need to water a wilted flower garden

Author's Note

Photography ~ Pinterest
Poetry ~ MsJewel

Reviews

[redzone]

my god Julie, that was stark, raw and tears at the heart... the thing is too, there is such soft longing and love in the first part of the poem and then wham!! a haunting sunset... the stark reality of lost love... but it is exactly now when water is needed in this garden... I love your poetry Julie, even when it rips out my heart and stomps on it...

redzone

[MsJewel]

I guess life can't be all hearts and butterflies Curt. Sorry about heart stomping though...I appreciate your wonderful comment and your support of my poetry. :) Julie

[redzone]

No, life is often filled with pain and suffering, heart break... no worries about the stomping Julie, not much more damage can be done. .. but what about your heart Julie?

[MsJewel]

I'm tougher than I look Curt! :)

[redzone]

I know Julie, to me you look like you know how to live life... but that doesn't mean it (life) doesn't hurt a great deal sometimes...

[Ken Simm.]

What a superb, poignant and poetic metaphor.

[MsJewel]

Thank you Ken :) Julie

[andrew mitchell]

Just wonderful writing ms jewel, a dark sweet and sour write. the imagery and statements just take the poem away, how love can look like a garden of neglect.

[MsJewel]

Thank you for your kind words Andrew :) Julie

[Island Hippy]

Aloha MsJewel, I enjoyed the stark contrasts of your poem and the building intensity spiralling in flames. Time is an ocean of contrasting moments, you conveyed this with great emotion. Izzy

[MsJewel]

Thank you for your lovely review :) Julie

[Island Hippy]

You're welcome

[BBP]

I love how you took it on a journey from the softness of the garden to the fiery hell of the end!

Good write Jewel.

[MsJewel]

I'm thrilled you enjoyed it Bev. Thanks so much :) Julie

[thetish]

Who opened the venetian blinds
and let time in? - brilliant words! I imagine this happening and how the time floods in, like sunbeams.

[MsJewel]

Thank you for taking the time to read and comment. I appreciate it very much :) Julie

[John Alexander McFadyen]

Amongst such beauty and lush foliage you manage to describe entangled weeds and thorns and the stark, brown patch that becomes a neglected, once loved, heart.

[MsJewel]

Thank you John :) Julie

[Lydia Shutter]

Such an intensely emotional write. Time is always the winner. We are powerless against time. The world is not the same when the ones we love are no longer in it. The stars are no longer beautiful and no amount of watering those wilted flowers will make them bloom again. This one packs a punch, Julie. An honest one. Lydi**

[MsJewel]

Thank you Lydi. I appreciate you. :) Julie

[Einstein Noodle]

man! the contrast is superb ..at the turn your knife sliced straight into my heart ..not like you usually ;)

beautifully done Ms. Jewel .. "wrapping me in a plume ..." sent my heart soaring and melting at the same time ... really good stuff says i! its into the library it goes for me!
E.
ps. in spite of your title i find, even at your conclusion, your poem springs thoughts of times i would water anyway ..for the longest times ..in the wildest of hopes to resurrect green shoots from the crudgey brown stubble :{ foolish man eh!? ;))

[MsJewel]

Not foolish at all. Sometimes those green shoots turn into beautiful flowers - but there are times when enough is enough. :) Julie

[Einstein Noodle]

yes indeed ...so true ... senseless beating of the dead horse syndrome eh!? very top o' the mahrnin' to ya, by the by ;)

[Tony Jordan]

Yes - as long as the (pardon this part - I'm quoting a friend to illustrate my point) sh*t, p*ss and vomit that is life is kept out then we get to enjoy and experience bliss in it's purest form.
But someone always opens those blinds (great metaphor by the way).
The bittersweetness of this is palpable.
Your pen runneth over with wondrous sentiment Julie.

[MsJewel]

Thank you for your kind words Tony :) Julie

[Patricia Wedel]

My mistake Julie... It was Elizabeth Barrett Browning who wrote "How do I love you ... Let me count the ways....
However I believe Emily Dickinson knew the tragedy of love... the fading of the flowers... truly, Pat

[MsJewel]

I believe you are right - it was Elizabeth Barrett Browning - who is one of my favorites. Thanks so much my dear friend. :) Julie