Filling the Vase

My brother was the visiting writer at our NIWP retreat in McCall and an exerice he did about writing inspired this poem. The flowers are a reminder of summer blooms from the garden a few years ago.

Filling the Vase

Writing is wandering through the

garden path harvesting morning flowers.

Gathering leaves, finding fillers,

snipping blossoms as they begin to open.

Pausing to reflect and even observe

while paying attention to the smells.

Gold, chartreuse, and deep red become the wondrous words,

thorny stems phrases cut too deep.

The combination of textures sort the sentence variety

over powered by the sweet scent of similes.

The violet vase is the vessel of form

Aligning the sentences, arranging the words,

Taming texture with attention to audience.

Place the bouquet on the farmhouse table,

or away for a spell to let the contents settle.

Christy Woolum

June 24, 2008