Planting pruning weeding Baby's Breath sunlight plays games with silvered spoons in this picture-book family the child's morning-dew eyes catch the fairies flitting flickering flying on the kitchen wall outside a rose (variety Home Sweet Home) grows tall and graceful Five years on we're pulling up our roots, saying farewell to windowboxes filled with Sage (for immortality), Lemon Balm (for heart's delight) outside the city awaits a garden for the child to play everafterhappy stories Foxgloves and nettles hiding whispering creeping behind Honesty and Love-in-a-Mist Ten years another house and Clematis weaves twists entwines through fragile roses named Fidelity (a Hybrid Tea) and Hope (a Floribunda) framing a house built to withstand the storms of our private winters and the huffs and puffs of your denials and lies I call you by your names - horehound, devil's tongue, corn cockle Your green-fingered deceit is shamed pricked forced through to the surface your roots rotting squirming withering in the evergreen of your lies like vine weevils like snails that sneak-slime in the middle of the night like toads belly-crawling to hide in the dark places under rocks When summer comes I shall plant a miniature rose (variety Heartbreaker) and others - maybe Hope and Forgotten Dreams and, like Aphrodite, pick marjoram to make a mourning wreath
Lizzie Madder's questions:
I'm curious to know how much is understood or perceived about the background of the poem. Obviously, I know what I see and mean when I wrote it, but I wonder how much of the essence of the story behind the poem comes through.
Also, if you're not a plantsperson, are the references to plants a distraction?
Any general criticism of style, grammar etc would be appreciated.