Fragile Lilac Petals

Clippings were cut to place in a crystal vase.
They grew in the sunny corner of the garden,
tiny petals reminding me of hand tatted lace.
I gave them water, blooms from my jardin.
Lilacs perfume the night wind when it blows
bringing back memories from deep in my heart.
Thoughts of when the golden moonlight glows 
and fragile lilac petals picked for me... fell apart.

Sorrowful feelings that I thought were buried,
but the fragrance of them each summer returns
to haunt the emotions stirred when I carried
their blooms when we were married. It burns
like an eternal flame that will never be doused.
A first love always lives in memories of the heart,
awakened at the scent when we were espoused.
Before fragile lilac petals picked for me... fell apart.

first loveflowerrhyme

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Paul Willason

March 14, 2024 at 2:54 AM

A magical poem Lin carrying, in some sense, the drift of Marcel Proust's lilacs...memories stimulated by perfume and presence And then you have given us the additional pleasure of one of your paintings.

Lin Lane

March 14, 2024 at 4:12 AM

Ahh, Paul. ‘Swan’s Way,’ in which he compared maybe lilac blooms to chandeliers of bubbled petals. A compliment to my lines if they reminded you of Proust, even a little. This painting is one of a few that are in oils. Merci, merci.

Bill Baker

March 13, 2024 at 3:29 PM

Lovely painting, Lin and the poetry was a delight as well. It resonates with me and my first love that ended after 10 years. M Memories can pop up with little help needed and touch us in very emotional ways. Thanks for sharing your beautiful art and your poetic skills, my friend. Smiles ~ Blessings Bill

Lin Lane

March 13, 2024 at 3:42 PM

Thanks, Bill. This time perhaps I've put the cart before the horse. The painting in not new but the poem is. I value you for appreciating my art.

Daniel Henry Rodgers

March 13, 2024 at 5:43 AM

Dearest Lin, I love how your poem tenderly captures the bittersweet essence of memories intertwined with the delicate beauty of lilacs. The repetition of "fragile lilac petals picked for me... fell apart" adds a haunting refrain, underscoring the ephemeral nature of love and the enduring presence of past emotions. Lin what a wonderful reflection on the fragility of memory and the lingering echoes of the heart. - Blessings, Daniel

Lin Lane

March 13, 2024 at 7:52 AM

Hi Daniel and thanks for believing my memories were real. I've come to believe that a love once known and then lost provides the heartbreaking emotions that serve a poet well in writing of such a tragedy. I wrote a poem about lilacs and remembered I'd painted them from a bush I once had but had to repaint the shades of lavender and purples. A titch daunting to redo what I'd painted years ago, but I think it worked out liked I hoped it would.

David Kavanagh

March 12, 2024 at 2:35 PM

Poignant, and sad is lost love Lin, this one really does exude with heartbreak, but in a very beautiful way, such is the skill of the poet and artist, uplifting and despairing all at once, wonderful poem, cheers David

Lin Lane

March 13, 2024 at 5:38 AM

This one was fiction, although I did have a lilac bush in my garden when I lived in Colorado. Thank you for the kind critique, David. I've renewed my interest in painting since my ballerina portrait of Eloise.

Tom Cunningham

March 12, 2024 at 12:35 PM

Quite an emotional write of lost love with painful memories surfacing from the scent of those beautiful blooms. Amazing artwork Lin, you are truly gifted. Tom

Lin Lane

March 12, 2024 at 1:11 PM

Thank you very much, Tom. It's an oil painting I did years ago but refreshed the colors to present the lilacs in shades closer to the bush I had in Colorado.