They’ve appeared without invitation,
last year’s seeds come to life
with yellow and purple petals scattered
among dark green astilbe and goatsbeard,
their pansy faces turned upward in defiance.
Tender scalloped leaves mark emergent siblings
who beg for mercy as I rip out nearby dandelions.
I honor them.
The audacity with which
the squatter flowers have built a settlement
in the midst of a garden rife with rabbits,
where weeds are regularly beheaded
with sharp hoes, where the resident
chipmunk uproots seedlings with abandon,
forces me to acknowledge the strength
of these lovely and fierce violas
which have rioted right here, outside my door.
Kathleen Cassen Mickelson is a writer firmly grounded in Minnesota, but she occasionally leaves the US to shake up her perspective. You can find samples of her work on the mnartists.org website. She works in multiple genres. http://www.mnartists.org/Kathleen_Cassen_Mickelson
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15 Responses to “TENACITY • by Kathleen Cassen Mickelson”
Comments
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July 12th, 2009 at 2:29 am
Even as a non-gardener, I found this poem fascinating with vivid imagery.
Great stuff!
July 12th, 2009 at 5:48 am
Strong and beautiful life-affirming poem (despite the hard luck for weeds).
July 12th, 2009 at 6:18 am
Sweet and hitting close-to-home for me. How can anyone help but admire those “rioters”? Beautifully described, Kathleen!
July 12th, 2009 at 12:18 pm
Kathleen, I love the whole thing! What a fantastic declaration of life! Wonderful.
July 12th, 2009 at 12:46 pm
VERY well done–I enjoy the strength of the emotions and the delightful imagery. “The resident chipmunk uproots seedlings with abandon” — love it!
July 12th, 2009 at 2:18 pm
Thanks for the wonderful comments! You’ve all made my day.
July 12th, 2009 at 3:45 pm
I really like this – you gotta love those rioters!
July 12th, 2009 at 7:41 pm
With some studies in herbalism behind me, I wince whenever dandelions are ripped out. That doesn’t stop me from loving this, however!
July 12th, 2009 at 11:40 pm
Thanks so much for this picture perfect poem; brought the meadows right into my room!
July 13th, 2009 at 2:11 am
Beautiful!
July 13th, 2009 at 4:09 am
I really enjoyed this poem – Well done!
July 14th, 2009 at 4:45 am
wonderful poem!
July 16th, 2009 at 4:02 am
Wow…beautiful. I never thought of flowers as rebellious. Fine poem.
July 16th, 2009 at 1:06 pm
The constant poetic gardener you are Kathleen!
July 17th, 2009 at 8:28 am
Did you know that dandelion leaves are good edibles and make delicious salads? Maybe that will assuage some of the hard feelings regarding pulling them out to give some favor to the new wild weed – the colorful pansy.