white lilies
on the other side will i find you?...
photo by Mathew Schwartz at Unsplash
white lilies
because i saw a bed of lilies
last night
white and glossy and rain kissed
i kept thinking of death
how it should be life and joy and
our home
new floor tiles and italian furniture
and perhaps wines on rainy days
because it was eighteen years ago
one night
the tunnel lights throbbing heartbeats
and i, holding a bouquet of flowers
white lilies baby breath laces
pure scented
for my bride the next big day
to match that glorious gown we selected
and the lady who sat opposite
nodded smiled
knowing what the flowers were for
that the night will be forever
had it been so many years then?
her joy
when she took the lilies that day
and even her name was Flower
and i could not touch those lilies
so white
so delicately alive that my body
shook and not from the chill.
written : sept 2012
revised : 16/04/2019
******************
theme song from movie Spirited Away - Always with Me
© cheong lee san ( dsnake1 ) 2021
white lilies
because i saw a bed of lilies
last night
white and glossy and rain kissed
i kept thinking of death
how it should be life and joy and
our home
new floor tiles and italian furniture
and perhaps wines on rainy days
because it was eighteen years ago
one night
the tunnel lights throbbing heartbeats
and i, holding a bouquet of flowers
white lilies baby breath laces
pure scented
for my bride the next big day
to match that glorious gown we selected
and the lady who sat opposite
nodded smiled
knowing what the flowers were for
that the night will be forever
had it been so many years then?
her joy
when she took the lilies that day
and even her name was Flower
and i could not touch those lilies
so white
so delicately alive that my body
shook and not from the chill.
written : sept 2012
revised : 16/04/2019
******************
theme song from movie Spirited Away - Always with Me
© cheong lee san ( dsnake1 ) 2021
posted by dsnake1 at 11:01 PM
21 Comments:
This mixture of love, loss, longing, and blooms left me shaking too. Why is it that pain hurts so much more when preceded by happiness? I suspect that the sight of white lilies will bring to mind your poem for quite some time...
Lovely lily memory, beautifully presented.
Magaly,
Thank you!
the night i saw those white lilies growing by the roadside, it was raining, and chilly. the poem follows quite naturally. whenever i see these lilies, it reminds me of that wedding bouquet.
Beverly,
Thank you!
This is simply gorgeous ... so many emotions rising in me as I read it.
An absolutely gorgeous poem filled with intense emotion.
Joy and sorrowing springing from the same well. A wonderfull poem Cheong Lee san, even though it left me feeling sad
Thanks for dropping by my blog today
Much💛love
It's those small details that haunt us, far more than any specter in a horror movie. The flowers on a special day, the songs played on a road trip, the silly inside jokes no one else would find at all funny -- there's always a reaction and its always bittersweet.
wow, an emotional deep poem of love and loss Very touching
So beautifully bitter-sweet. I always love the restraint in your poems, which paradoxically renders the emotions all the more moving; and the way you can make a tiny detail convey so much – like a stone thrown into a pond, starting ever-expanding ripples.
Helen,
Thank you! :)
Cie,
Thank you! :)
Gillena,
glad you liked it, even though it's a sad poem. :)
Entering a marriage completely changes ones life and it might take some time before the couple can relax and then live their lives together. The memories of that time remain with them for ever. What a beautiful poem this is.
Rommy,
yes, somehow, those small details find a place in our memories, and they can come back to haunt us at the most inappropriate times.
thank you for your wonderful comment. :)
Marja,
Thank you! :)
Rosemary,
Thank you!
The original draft was very much longer. i have pare off a fair bit of words. :)
it is, Robin.
a marriage changes a lot of parameters, routines. and the memories of that time will remain.
thank you for the comment. :)
Lovely yet dark. Sweetly lingers.
Colleen, thank you! :)
That's a day I will also remember, both marriages. These little white lilies come to jog our memories.
..
..
Thank you, Jim. Those days are indeed hard to forget.
This is poignantly beautiful.
Thank you, magiceye! :)
That was absolutely beautiful. Thanks.
Greetings from London.
Thank you, Mario! :)
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