Smell the roses
When you’re in an awful hurry and haven’t time to spare
And everything’s a worry you’re rushing here and there
While all the jobs are piling up, there’s dishes in the sink
You haven’t time to wash a cup, you haven’t time to think
Stop... and smell the roses, that well worn old cliché
For sure as little apples, tomorrow is another day.
My bones, my mind, my love doth know
For the sun’s light come after the crow
Of a rooster proudly doing his duty
Rising each morning, to a new beauty
Colors dance and leap across the sky
I wake to the noise I need not reply
Let me sit and ponder
The forest in my mind I wander
Sit in the stillness, the peace of morne
I have no felt this since the day I was born
Let time become slow and the seconds pass by hours
Stop and smell the roses, smell the flowers
Stop and smell the roses
but be careful
for you may get stung.
For those bees
are not known for their taste
so you could be the unlucky one.
Speeding along life's highway
With the scenery flashing by
Must stop and smell the roses
There's more than meets the eye
We miss the tiny intricacies
Subtleties that mean so much
Life's delightful wee treasures
The warmth of a babies touch
A gentle breeze at daybreak
Welcoming a brand new day
Puffy white billowy clouds
Trees as they swing and sway
Life's a highway, enjoy the ride
The end comes far too soon
As you look for it's hidden meaning
You reach life's final swoon
Reflecting back over the years
Of the good times and the bad
You realize it's been a blast my friends
Thankful for the life you've had
With heartaches and some sorrows
To get through it all unscathed
Is nothing short of a miracle
In your memories you're left to bathe
When the magic spell is broken and the fog begins to lift.
And the heat of the day breaks through and clarity is no longer adrift.
The damp quickly dries and the light erases doubt.
No longer in the comforting mist things are so clear they shout.
It takes a while to exit that mist when its rose colored glasses you wear.
And its grief you experience because even so you still care.
So stop and smell the roses, feed the soul, sooth the heart.
A new day has dawned and with it a new start.
When the magic spell is broken. - Artimus (C) Susan Manley 11/3/2009
Stop and smell the roses even if they aren't there
Stop and smell the flowers even if they are dead or bear
Stop and smell the roses because each petal has a different scent and every curve is a masterpiece, like a Renaissance painting
Pass by a rose and you may miss a lifetime
Pass by a daisy and you may lose your smile
Pass by a sunflower and your nightmares could start to become a sad reality
Appreciate what you take for granted or your heart will hibernate instead of bloom
There's a simplistic complexity that is painted to the curves of every rose
How can something so small hold so much beauty
When you can answer this you're eyes can truly see, your heart will smell grace, your ears can feel the future
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so what do you let your eyes hold
Whatever it is, remember before you get too old
Enjoy the event of a white rose
p.s. don't let the world distract you from the paintings on the petals...
I took time
By Michelle Morris
29/07/2022
I took time to stop and smell the roses
I took time to take care of me
I took time to enjoy the moments
I took time to understand the meaning
I took time to hear the birds sing
So sweetly in the trees
I took time to watch them fly
Upwards towards heavenly freedom
I took time to notice butterflies
Dancing here and there
I took time to enjoy their beauty
Their colourful arrays
I took time to see busy bees
Collecting pollen from flowers in gardens
I took time to appreciate their efforts
To help pollinate our planet
I took time to walk in the sunshine
I took time to embrace the peace
I took time to enjoy my life
I took time to show gratitude and love
© Michelle Morris, 2022
I always felt like life ought to have larger meaning than I'd ever be able to attribute. Raised in a former Soviet republic by a single parent whose primary, righteously so, goal was to build my character - with utmost morals, good marks, great ethics, perfect behaviour, classic literature and a life goal to achieve. Time wasted was a sin. Beware of idle!
This motto, engraved in my mindset, ruled my life marathon never letting its muscular arms off my back. Never stroked, rather whipped.
Take it easy, relax and chill, lay back or even stop and smell the roses were foreign idioms I wouldn't know how to apply. "Living for myself" sounded like an oxymoron.
And "Love is all we need" wasn't the ground I walked on as a child. Pristine and pragmatic were my compass directives that sharpened my common sense (turned out not to be that common). A very handy trait.
I now dare to impart on my mom what dear life taught me: love is the most powerful sense, taking time to express it is never idle, taking it easy saves the heart beat, and smelling the roses brings out the fragrant presence of Now, all we have.
I love you, mom.
February 9, 2023
Leave it hanging in the stars leave it round the bend
sometimes forgetfulness can be a real God send
Entrust it to the moon above to an ocean full of Grace
velvet memories, regrets, evaporate without a trace
Live in knowledge it is safe you can trust the light ,
relegate confide in Hope, before the end of night.
STOP AND SMELL THE ROSES SERIES
Your strongest day is standing
just outside your door. Let it in.
Each day the sun comes home to you
it whispers with the wind
calling out your name.
This is no video game.
Life’s a bouquet banquet
made from your reflections.
You do not need directions.
Pick your moments carefully.
Stop and smell the roses,
leave your motor running
for the dangers trust exposes.
Listen to where life comes from
the beating sound of your own drum.
Make the most of music that it brings.
Unraveling all your tangled balls of strings.
With patience Iron out each peace,
holding tight to all you love
with nails and teeth.
Now put your stubby thumbs
through their tiny holster loops
and pull your britches up.
Hitch them high,
and puff out your chest !!
You’ve always been ready for this.
This is not a test.
This is your life.
My flower lies within, a sight that few have seen.
Protected and hidden by sharp thorns and leaves of green.
An innocence ripped away at a very early age.
My flower's locked away in a cold and lonely cage.
Pain and loneliness now partnered with a lost child’s soul.
A broken heart now pleading to once again be whole.
Looks can be deceiving a flower hidden forever be.
Most will see just thorns never looking in to truly see.
It dwells within the darkness overlooked and locked away.
Living without light, in my dreams it does gently sway.
Maybe the day will come when my hidden cage is found.
I hope true love’s key will set me free from the pain that surrounds.
This land has many flowers some of their beauty is hard to see.
Many eyes and many beholders, from sea to shining sea.
Beauty is seen by all, but noticed by just a few.
Stop and smell the roses, may their beauty see you through.
*The Flower, The Thorn or Both Poetry Contest*
7-7-20
Being afraid for something you do not know
Is like honouring a promise that was never made
Being excited for someone else good fortune
Is like cheering, sitting on the bench
Start, stop and smell the roses
Introspection is not for the faint hearted
Moving on is a continuous , unbearable journey
Capitalisation is for the one
Being who you are
Is like licking an ice cream in winter
Being perspective
Is like undressing someone with the clothes on
If we knew today was our last day…
If we knew tomorrow was the end of our bloom
what would we do
how would we act
what would we say…
and to whom?
Would we sprinkle words of love a little freer
before we pass this way
Would we hold those we love a little tighter
than we held them yesterday?
Would we stop and smell the roses
as we head out your front door…
Would we notice a little more beauty today
than we did the day before?
Would we smile and laugh a little more
Would we sit and watch a river flow
Would we notice the birds and the clouds a little more
than we did a day ago.
And so I wonder…
if there are things we would make it a point to do
before we pass away
So many things we want to say or do
why wait til our last day?
20161204
Madly rushing to end the year
All activities running in the 5th gear
Calls to stop and smell the roses can't hear
Desperately reaching for the new year
A new year, a new start, fresh resolutions
As if a new year will turn your intentions to actions
As if a new year will change your situations
Forgetting last year and its resolutions
Sub Categories
Looking for the formal definition, structure, and history of this poetry form? Visit the Poetry Dictionary entry below. Then return to explore how PoetrySoup members bring the form to life through their own poems.