"Flowers fade and decay through wintry hours- waiting for rebirth."
Quote by - Constance La France
Each season has its own highlights
Flower life starts at the roadside
Coltsfoot, which humans classify as weed
A lovely sign of spring
Shrubs, trees and flowers come to life
everything germinates and grows
wood anemone, crocus and snowdrops
- a spot in the garden
Plants maintain the balance of life
Choosing a favorite is hard
Summer is a glorious spectacle
- when the blossoms explode
Time for a long hibernation
Preparing for the coming frost
Winter plants ice roses on the window
- creates sense of wonder
The decay and rebirth cycle
means everything is connected
With strength back into every living cell
- It feels as pure magic
Blow-ball and Cankerwort,
words born from a common tongue.?
Lions tooth, ?
Priests Crown, ?
Moles Salad and piss-a-bed.?
?
English is most practical ?
when it is rustic and colloquial.
‘Swine Snout’ snorts loud upon the page.
The yarrow-yellow flowers last for hours
then overnight turn to fairy bones.
I recall us both sat upon the grass
blowing unfettered puffs into the wind,
our hair littered with stemmed parasols
the pirouetting flotsam of the airborne.?
?
The damply dunked sounds of sneeze-helicopter's,?
the muddy splatter of piggy snozzles.
Lions Teeth are its leaf, mix well with Burdock
for a low tea under a shady tree.
Beware of false dandelions such as ?
cats ears and coltsfoot.?
The Chinese, Pu Gong Ying is the real thing.
After we had covered each other
with dandelion kisses
we made hay the old fashioned way.
Late April and only
coltsfoot—Tussilago farfara—breaking leaf litter.
Our daffodils, peonies and crocuses
are also making signs.
April is the cruelest month, I forget why.
A sweet slow Spring
no sudden changes
each leg and leaf unfolds deliberately. You can't miss it.
New York City's spring rushes like a yellow cab
into summer. One day leaves are wet,
next they’re leather. I prefer this slow dance,
birds mating on the sky, peepers evolving into frogs.
Repairs take weeks or months. Septic,
garage door, cracked windshield, clean windows,
build bridge, buy land, rake leaves off erosion control,
cut wood, prune lilac, paint lawn chairs.
More carefully inspect, identify, the insect
of the week, a fly with an ant’s body
that skirts the grass and falls in drinks.
Look more closely! It will be gone in a few days!
Then it will be the time of moths or fireflies,
mosquitoes and wasps. Mud road,
red-winged blackbird. The slashing stream
topples old trees. My legs hurt.
Early one Spring morning, I joyfully walked the verdant hills,
among lemon tinted blooms of coltsfoot, swaying in spills.
Their beauty seemed to drift in a gloriously scented display,
so enticing that honeybees and butterflies visited that day.
Dawn whispered with fruited breath to bid the sun, "Arise,"
and hues of watermelon rind and peach flesh filled the skies.
I gladly welcomed the gentle warmth on my upturned face,
savoring this tranquil scene; a moment I would long embrace.
Tangerine and lavender coral bells had grown quite profuse.
There was one the shade of lime, like the liqueur, chartreuse.
Blanket flowers of crimson were fringed in saffron yellow.
Dragonflies flitted among the buds; a pastoral scene so mellow.
Wild lilac bushes were maturing into a beautiful hedgerow,
then I caught I glimpse of aquamarine water on the lake below.
It was such a serene setting that I lingered for some time
thinking about the pastoral scene I would write about in rhyme.
April 13, 2021
Changing Colors Contest
Sponsored by Emile Pinet
Blowball and cankerwort,
words born from a common tongue.
English is most practical
when it is rustic and colloquial.
Lions tooth, priests crown,
moles salad and pee-a-bed.
‘Swine snout’ snorts loud upon the page.
The yarrow-yellow flowers last for hours
then overnight turn to fairy bones.
I recall us both sat upon the grass
blowing unfettered puffs into the wind,
our hair littered with stemmed parasols
the pirouetting flotsam of the airborne.
The French have alternate names,
herbal idioms difficult to spell,
but we savor together taraxacum
for it is a diuretic and wets the tongue,
as do the damply dunked sounds
of sneeze-helicopter's and
the muddy splatter of piggy snozzles.
Lions teeth are its leaf,
mix well with burdock
for a low tea under a shady tree.
Beware of false dandelions
such as cats ears and coltsfoot.
The Chinese, Pu Gong Ying
is the real thing.
After we had covered each other
with dandelion kisses
we made hay the old fashioned way.
Feel free to spell dandelion
the way you would write
a long sunny day.
Blossom of baby's breath,soft white gorse,crusted yellow, weeping willow rush patterned lace pastures a pastel green.Buttercup,daisy&comely cowslip mingle
&mix in fellowship swaying pelts of grass with purple vetch & ribwortplantain, clover in English rain.Scabious,burnets buttefliesand bees hawthorn and scented woodruff.Briar brambles sprawl,in dogrose so tall above harts-tongue The thinking eye,the abstract made visible a spatial convergence ,now liberated.
Imaginary ,incomplete feelings,beacons of vivacity,profound and positive.Intense inner sounds,a polyphony,the poet's soul,unfazed&free.Seabank with scattered seaweed & feathery fennel in aniseed;Alexander’s leaves so green this tender cusine.Welcome wholesome fat hen,vibrant shoots the vimen in Lamb’s lettuce in Jack-in-the-hedge in wild radish,cress&chive,where majoram &sweet cicely thrive.Seabeet,and chard also survive.Wild parsnip the confectioner,tansy to savour.Stinging nettles so green,peppermint oil pick-me-up, in coltsfoot syrup cup.
The River
The swirling stream in slow eddies flows along,
In bright sun flecked ripples the Grey Heron wades.
Where Water Coltsfoot, Alder and Birch belong
A swift kingfisher darts from the dappled shade,
Its blue cloak’s flash in the riparian glade.
And so beyond our powers for us it seems
To recreate Natures most alluring themes
And to imitate her wonders such as these,
That which simple Nature will create with ease.
Barry Stebbings
Oct. 2020
Once were badgers in leafy dale,
once were rabbits and foxes too,
once were pheasants in shining copse where cuckoopint and coltsfoot grew.
Once were songbirds in privet hedges,
once were bluebells for mile upon mile,
once were dark woods cool and shading hiding squirrels and foxes guile.
Once were home fed pigs and poultry,
once were food with proper taste,
once were marls with mirrored water, but now they only hold our waste.
Once were farmers in umber meadow,
once were colliers in village pit,
once were taverns for quenching thirst where now the townie and tourist sit.
Once were fens and fields and down-lands,
once were moorhen and curlews call,
once were stewards of Gods own country, where now there is but urban sprawl.
Once were leaders of Albion's masses,
once were statesmen of unbending word,
once was a land that was fit for heroes, where now only spin and deceit are heard.
I value the ability to live independently
Most sacred to me
is the freedom and my health
- every breath of dawn, is like a diamond
I open the window ... just for a little while
- no children are out playing
the sun is shining and the lilies are blooming
Spring sings its first greeting
Nothing is so beautiful
as the first coltsfoot
Our world today ... lockdown and isolation
Freedom has got a bad friend
and its name is: FEAR
Fear of getting sick ...
Infection and illness can hit quite randomly
A good saying goes:
// it's hard to define an elephant,
but, you recognize it when you see it //
This is a time and a reminder about
we are all equally vulnerable
... and mortal
// Dear Father in Heaven,
protect us in battle and sickness
Give us hope when it seems hopeless //
- Don't fear
... but cheer
Spring is my happy time
... it tingles in the stomach
- // (not in the throat)
I want my freedom back
27.03.2020
Sun :) - A-L Andresen :)
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What Matters Most To You
Sponsored by: Chantelle Anne Cooke
2 place in the contest
coltsfoot in tatters
the waterfall chuffing
— bright Summer sun
8/8/2018
Scents
Coltsfoot
Dare to dream
Nature's glory
Wealth
10.04.2017
Sun :) - A-L Andresen :)
howmanysyllables.com/syllable
1-2-3-4-1
Don’t let the worms touch the brittle petals,
Just blow them to my empty palms
As gentle dream. I can no longer settle
Be lonely as a leafless stalk.
And coltsfoot not roses,
Just coltsfoot surround me
And nothing comes close
As close as a dream comes.
It rains all over our roofs and our raincoats
And we might fall or wither away,
I long for the time,
for the night when the moth comes
But hope for a visit of an insect less gray.
And coltsfoot not roses,
Just coltsfoot surround me
And nothing comes close
As close as a dream comes.
Spring marks the end of winter and start of summer
It is lovely with colorful contrasts
Norway is a long country with a lot of mountains and valleys
Wide variations in climate from south to north and from east to west
Migrant's return, and the first flower is coltsfoot
Both humans and animals awakened by hibernation with new energy
The sun is high, no snow falls and the birds singing
Small downy mouse ears to be leaves on birch tree
01.04.2016
A-L Andresen :)
If our springs are uncertain we enjoy fine sunny days
A feeling for spring, even when bad, is always good
Such is the opening of April, not winter nor summer
It is spring fickle and chilly a spring of dear England
In spite of the cold, green steals along our hedgerows
All along river banks and flourish in the bowery lanes
Little daisies, thinly sprinkled, bow to us in friendship
Make our gardens flame with tints of far away places
Take a walk on bare turf over wind swept meadows
The coltsfoot shows yellow flowers on barren lands
Blue and white violets sit in their established places
A cardamine smiles wide from a moist green ditch
Primroses in their loveliness are punctual as daylight
In spots where they have appeared as long ago as time
Anemonies dance in breezes as they wave sweet waves
A season for love or tortured hearts, of sadness or joy
Lost my energy... tired and exhausted in my body
My longing drives me like a high fever
Just the thought .... feel a bit lightheaded
Am I sick - should I see a doctor
No ... when I think about it ... it's spring fever
Beautiful spring ... long time to wait after a cold winter
Gorgeous birdsong in the air ... I have not waited in vain
Spring snow melts ... Snowdrops, coltsfoot and buds on trees
Taste of summer I must say. . . my time - so beautiful
The air is set with colors - and dipped in beautiful fragrances
I want to plant a little seed in the still cold ground
later the seed grow into a beautiful flower
Spring has opened my heart today -
and I can feel it in my whole body
Now I want to dance - dance with me
19.02.2014
A-L Andresen :)
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