"Ireland" by Emily Soto, fashion photographer
Linking with The Sunday Muse for Muse # 44 and Imaginary Gardens for Season Your Poetry brought to us byToni
come join us!
In search of my mother's garden, I found my own. ~Alice Walker
right where I am.
Linking with The Sunday Muse for Muse # 44 and Imaginary Gardens for Season Your Poetry brought to us byToni
come join us!
In search of my mother's garden, I found my own. ~Alice Walker
Running, and searching hard, can be like reaching out to
touch the farthest thing with eyes closed tight. It is hard to make progress in
a state of chaos and that is what you get when you are running too fast looking
for something you have never seen. The
rare and evasive flower of certainty.
For rare flowers cannot be picked
Nor seen from afar
They must be appreciated
Up close
We all want to thrive
Where we stand
That takes a certain peace
In knowing where we belong
A purpose that is our own to hold
Like a flower seeded by love
in it's perfect season
in it's perfect season
Meant for us alone
The shoes I fill are not my mothers
She had her own steps to take
The place I call home
Is not my grandmother’s house
But the seeds they both planted
Are the nectar that runs through my veins
I am a bloom in a garden of many
yet at times I get lost looking for a mirror image
In the horizon of who I am
I wander far only to find
I grow best planted in belongingI wander far only to find
right where I am.
©Carrie Van Horn 2019
"The shoes I fill are not my mothers". There is so much to be said about being who we are, in our own time. The past and our roots might contribute to our shaping, but only our decisions can dictate how we bloom.
ReplyDeleteI really love the point of your poem and the image below it, which of course go hand in hand.
ReplyDeleteI love how you present the idea of the bloom (and thus of spring) to that of growing into the one you are (with or without your mother's shoes)
ReplyDelete"But the seeds they both planted
ReplyDeleteAre the nectar that runs through my veins
I am a bloom in a garden of many
I really like this message - the awareness that our mother and grandmothers play in who we are - the nurturing and care so we can become who we are meant to be.
Love the entire allusion to flowers and verdant pastures. My fav line : "I am a bloom in a garden of many...."
ReplyDeleteI like the idea that rare flowers cannot be picked but must be appreciated close up. And also the idea that we are not filling our mother's shoes but our own! (And, as an aside, I think we can be best appreciated close up as well - not from afar.)
ReplyDeleteA beautiful sentiment throughout all the wonderful lines in this poem.
ReplyDeleteI love all the emotion in this piece, Carrie. ❤
Starting from the lines: the shoes I fill are not my mothers...is the perfect poem. The essence of this lovely poem are contained in these lines. We Don't fill our mothers shoes but certainly we follow until we fund our own path. Thank you for posting to my prompt.
ReplyDeleteBelonging right where I am.....how lovely. Your lines about your mother and grandmother reminds me of that quote - you come from the love of thousands.
ReplyDeleteThe rare and evasive flower of certainty.
ReplyDeleteFor rare flowers cannot be picked
Nor seen from afar
Beautiful lines, Carrie.
I'm so glad to have read this--the idea of becoming certain in your self, of being one among many others, similar but not mirror-perfect similar, makes sense. Growth as both release and stability. A beautiful poem.
ReplyDeleteI like the lines,
ReplyDelete"The shoes I fill are not my mothers
She had her own steps to take."
But the end sums it all, do your best where you are planted.
I like it, Carrie.
..
This is wonderful, Carrie! The shape is evocative. I love the way you took the Alice Walker quote and made a completely new and original poem. I also love the phrase ‘rare and evasive flower of certainty’ and the lines:
ReplyDelete‘The shoes I fill are not my mothers
She had her own steps to take
The place I call home
Is not my grandmother’s house
But the seeds they both planted
Are the nectar that runs through my veins’.
I feel like this too.
A lovely balance between sweet memories of mother and grandmother and yet belonging right where you are . . . Beautiful
ReplyDeleteI agree with Toni that the essential poem begins at 'The shoes I fill...' The rest seems like preamble, no matter how well said. You have a good point to make in any case.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful words Carrie, very motivational...words to inspire and empower. Words of encouragement... confident in who you are.
ReplyDeleteThis is beautiful. There are times we try to roam outside who we are, but it never fits, we wither. Beautiful poem
ReplyDelete