Day Three of NAPOWRIMO and for my prompt at Wednesday Muse and for dverse Poets, open link night.
Yozakura
“And so the spring buds burst, and so I gaze,
And so the blossoms fall, and so my days …” ― Onitsura
it was chilly and rained all day.
The night was the same.
little pitpats of rain on the leaves,
the house, the ground –
like the gentle breathing of a peaceful
sleeping thing or the far off shush
of the ocean waves.
At night the cherry blossoms are grey
and monotone –
the color leached from them.
most of the petals lie plastered
on the ground – like ideographs spelling
out the sadness of them,
the doom of them.
Words that can only be spelled and not pronounced –
words that spell goodbye.
**Yozakura is Japanese for night cherry blossoms
Apr 03, 2019 @ 06:42:15
“like ideographs spelling out the sadness of them,” sigh .. this is such a heart-wrenchingly stunning image. I love the sensitivity with which this poem is penned. Thank you so much for writing to the prompt, Toni ❤️
Apr 03, 2019 @ 09:30:09
Oh gorgeous…
Apr 03, 2019 @ 09:35:22
“most of the petals lie plastered
on the ground – like ideographs spelling
out the sadness”
What a beautiful, and fragrant, pain.
Apr 03, 2019 @ 10:11:26
palpable melancholy ~
Apr 03, 2019 @ 10:13:34
“Ideagraphs”, what a wonderful idea. And you are right, the cherry blossoms, that so soon fall to the ground, are sad. They do reflect life, for it is so soon over.
Apr 03, 2019 @ 10:19:59
melancholy and sad and beautiful 🙂
Apr 03, 2019 @ 10:20:13
It’s tragic when they fall.
Apr 03, 2019 @ 10:58:50
At night the cherry blossoms are grey
and monotone
This says so much to me of the transience of all beautiful things – so quick to fade.
Apr 03, 2019 @ 11:16:25
So eloquent and beautiful!
Apr 03, 2019 @ 12:02:50
It’s lovely how you paint this rather melancholic picture in contrast to what otherwise was or had been. This bit spoke to me in how it so poetically portrays the transience of life and its many moods: “most of the petals lie plastered/on the ground – like ideographs spelling/out the sadness of them,/the doom of them.”
Apr 03, 2019 @ 13:43:02
Elequent wording, especially those last several lines. One can’t help but feel the melancholy and beauty at once.
Apr 03, 2019 @ 14:23:46
The melancholy is so strong in mood and visually…Great writing!
Apr 03, 2019 @ 15:17:16
I get a powerful sense of loss here Toni. It’s so beautiful.
Apr 03, 2019 @ 15:19:07
“Words that can only be spelled and not pronounced – words that spell goodbye”….wow that is one gorgeous line to end a beautiful visual poem. Simply wonderful Toni!
Apr 03, 2019 @ 15:40:12
This took my breath away, Toni. Truly. I loved the quote at the top, too.*sigh*
Apr 03, 2019 @ 16:25:16
Oh, those last lines! This moved through me like a good cry. 🙂
Apr 03, 2019 @ 20:37:45
pitpats of rain of leaves — perfectly sensual and so telling for its richness – wow! and leached coloured ideograph cherry petals? ….
brilliant image to have painted Toni — marvelous poem! Brava!
Apr 03, 2019 @ 21:24:21
Thank you Pat!
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Apr 03, 2019 @ 20:54:33
That final “goodbye” squeezes the heart. Goodbyes are never the easiest things to live through, but when they come after beauty and wonder and happiness… seeing the source of it all die (be crushed) hurts so much.
Apr 03, 2019 @ 21:23:48
Yes. It does.
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Apr 03, 2019 @ 21:19:41
I like your sad build up for the last three lines,
“Words that can only be spelled and not pronounced –
words that spell goodbye.”
..
Apr 03, 2019 @ 21:23:15
Thank you!
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Apr 03, 2019 @ 22:48:14
Beautiful , loved this.
Apr 03, 2019 @ 22:58:24
At night the cherry blossoms are grey… exquisite!
Apr 04, 2019 @ 04:48:27
You’ve captured night sounds so beautifully, Toni, in the ‘little pitpats of rain’ and the ‘far off shush of the ocean waves’ – I was there. Listening. I love the monochrome cherry blossoms like ‘ideographs spelling out the sadness of them’. The last word, the goodbye, falls heavily.
Apr 04, 2019 @ 15:41:54
Oh the sadness of a goodbye… and how the cherry petals are grey.
Apr 04, 2019 @ 15:45:54
The sadness is heightened by the transience of the words written in blossom. Soon even their memory will be gone.
Apr 04, 2019 @ 16:20:03
Yeppers. Blown away by the wind
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Apr 04, 2019 @ 16:08:43
“What they said”; smile. Kudos for you for this fine poetic; yes, melancholy and beautiful. I have a tulip tree with pink blossoms, and the blossoms only burst with pink pride for two days, and then the petals race each other, helicoptering, spinning to the lawn.
Apr 04, 2019 @ 16:19:13
We call those pink trees tulip magnolias. Very pretty trees until the blooms start to fade and then brown yuck. But I love the trees with the tiny fragile blooms
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Apr 04, 2019 @ 16:11:20
Every spring we wait in excited anticipation of the cherry blossoms, not considering nature’s whim until… so sad the rain “wasted” them 😦
Apr 04, 2019 @ 16:15:05
Thank you.
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Apr 04, 2019 @ 18:14:22
Such beautiful melancholy–the transience of life. Vivid words and images–I love the last lines.
Apr 04, 2019 @ 18:25:31
Gosh . . .there is so much in there . . we have to dig deep to get the best from this wonderful poem. Thanks . . . Eddie 🙂
Apr 04, 2019 @ 18:43:42
Beautiful words.
Apr 04, 2019 @ 19:48:28
This would have to one of my favourites of yours (so far!), Toni. I especially like the profound, perceptive thoughts in the last few lines and the onomatopoeia of “pitpats” and “shush”.
Apr 04, 2019 @ 20:11:32
This is enchanting Toni, in a somber, longing way… I was strongly drawn to its melancholy essence – I love melancholy. I think it’s deeply soulful. Rich write…
Cold hearted orb that rules the night
Removes the colors from our sight
Red is grey and yellow white
But we decide which is right…
…And which is an illusion.
Apr 04, 2019 @ 20:29:03
Thank you. Good quite frim Nights in White Satin
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Apr 04, 2019 @ 23:53:16
These lines resonated with me,
“Words that can only be spelled and not pronounced –
words that spell goodbye.”
Great ending.
Apr 05, 2019 @ 16:00:36
What a beautiful image and what a great way to re-purpose the image!
Apr 05, 2019 @ 19:02:39
I’ve done a poem at last . . . .
loved yours . . 🙂
Apr 07, 2019 @ 11:19:45
Rich in mono no aware and sabi! Wonderfully done, Toni! 🙂