Wallflower

On the edge she sits, a frail nonentity;
neither bloom nor spirit nor secure identity, 
as forlorn and shy she trembles, a man 
asks her to dance, she must decline.
  
She struggles with an careworn heart
out of control, O what a dreadful toll!
How shall she reform her hapless pose 
so that, carefree, she may blossom like a rose?
Copyright © | Year Posted 2008

Poem

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Köhp Avatar
December 14, 2008 at 1:49 PM
This poem reminds me of so many people I know. They're almost crippled by shyness. A beautiful piece! Also thanks for commenting on "Half and Half", you really got that one. It's based on me growing up in Austria and England. :D
Thomas Avatar
December 13, 2008 at 2:05 PM
Oh this really touches me at the core...I can definitely relate, being a shy wallflower myself. Those dances were sheer torture, being so afraid to say yes, and if I did, then finding myself totally tongue-tied the whole dance. Thank you for your second set of comments on "Tiger". I appreciate them just as much as the first ones! Hope your holidays are warm and wonderful and filled with sugarplums! ~Juliane
Austin Avatar
December 13, 2008 at 11:31 AM
Pitiful! ...not the poem, the girl. The vision is right on...."Neither bloom, not spirit, nor secure identity." Super line, Keith. Love, daver
Reynolds Avatar
December 13, 2008 at 10:45 AM
Ah, this reminds me of myself as a teen - so shy! Beautiful. I wouldn't go back to those days if you paid me!!! lol love, me
Mac Donald Avatar
December 13, 2008 at 7:27 AM
Good day to you, Keith! Oh bother, shyness isn't a boisterous friend, although it can be a consuming one. I know it well...it lurks at the back of one's mind and tries to hold back the other. Makes one reserved? Not at all..makes them feel lost and awkward!:) Nicely done, it will touch many and throw them into a pensive mode. Thanks for the comment on Mognome..borrowed the name from my son's turtle. They weren't so much alike.=/ God bless you and yours..Love, Mikki
Richards Avatar
December 13, 2008 at 7:26 AM
Poor little thing...yes there are memories like this from school days...but amazingly, I noticed at a class reunion one time, that some of these shy, fragile ones, turned out to be the later beauties...the butterfly who had transformed into her own. ~ Sweet poem. Carrie
Gass Avatar
December 13, 2008 at 7:23 AM
I, too, can identify with this But I love to dance and the older I get the easier it is to let my hair down! Wonderful write, Keith. Perfect in form and another terrific example of your versatility. I am posting my first attempt at a sonnet today called Moving Forward, In The End. (Not 100% on the title.) Any advice would be appreciated, as always. Happy Holidays! Love Robin
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