Monday, July 20, 2009

THE RICE AND FALL OF MY PEONIES

The longer I work in my garden, the more I believe in flower power and flower wisdom.
We had a cold and dry May and first half of June.
I visited my Peonies, cuddled for them, begged them, but the slowly developing buds wold not fold out.


Midsummer came with warmth and I let them drink for a day or so.
Next morning they unfolded in the sun.
Revealing the most precious beauty one could imagine.

After some dry and sunny weeks, spreading joi de vivre to all mankind and insects as well, the leaves started falling. Leaf to earth, dust to dust, thus returning the life they had spread.

One single bloom was left to die in beauty in a bowl on our sofa table.

I'll crown its short but magnificent life with this emo poem

The Sick Rose (Peony)
O rose, thou art sick!
The invisible worm
That flies in the night
In the howling storm

Has found out thy bed
Of crimson joy,
And his dark secret love
Does thy life destroy.

William Blake


Originated by MaryT, check hers for today.

25 comments:

Leora said...

Your peonies are beautiful. Whenever you post a poem like that of William Blake, I am going to choose one piece of it that resonates with me: "thy bed
Of crimson joy"

Anonymous said...

I want to wear your peonies - gorgeous photos and a very inspiring story.

Annie Jeffries said...

Elise, I love your dying peony. It reminds me of old powdered ladies with fragile parchment complexions, struggling to maintain their youthful beauty.

Debbie Petras said...

What beautiful peonies they were. Although they didn't last very long, you certainly tried your best to prolong that time. But it sounds like you enjoyed them while you could. Hugs to you Felisol.

Ralph said...

The circle of life, it is! We see the beauty of the past and present. The future of this plant and its beauty is ensures as the flower wilts. An incredible yet simple beauty in the circle - to be continued nest year!

Dora said...

That's nature! Nice sequence of pics!

Happy RT.

Felisol said...

Dear Leora & Serina,
I've made up for my miseries, completed the last verse.

Marites said...

you have such beautiful peonies. great captures too! my RT is up.

Jim said...

Most people have green thumbs, your's might be red. These are pretty flowers you are growing.
Happy RT,
Jim's Ruby Red
..

Carletta said...

Beautiful images Felisol!
I even like the dried peony - perhaps an old flower found pressed between the pages of a book only to be discovered and enjoyed once again.

Unknown said...

love the poem and your flowers are so pretty. so vibrant!

Martha said...

What beautiful flowers. Peonies are one of my favorite.

My Ruby Tuesday

Amrita said...

Felisol, you certainly spread joy through your pretty peonies.

We get these in our winter months. Even the dried one loks so attractive.

The poem really highlights it.

My monsoon roses are withered and dry very quickly.

Hope you all are doing well.

Magical Mystical Teacher said...

peony blossoms
pudgy and pink, yet perfect
in their fierce passion

My Ruby Tuesday

Constance said...

I love peonies! Even the flowers display the glory and majesty of our God!

I have rose bushes and they have gotten out of control! I desperately need to prune them!

Connie

Mrs. Mac said...

To 'drink in' the scent of peonies is to walk with our grandmothers in the early morning garden.

These flowers amaze me. They need a certain ant to help stimulate the opening of the flower bud (so I'm told) .. seems right to me as each spring the ants return to the buds in my yard.

Trish said...

I am always eager for our peonies to bloom! I cut myself a big bouquet and the fragrance fills my home...I am always sad when they are gone! Lovely post Felisol. pray all is well!

Dianne said...

the flowers are beautiful and the saga of their life journey is touching

Jada's Gigi said...

Gorgeous peonies! I haven't seen any in years!

Crown of Beauty said...

Beautiful pictures, beautiful post, beautiful poem.

I love the way that flowers speak of the fading beauty of a man's life.

Yet there is an eternal place where flowers never die, only bloom forever!

Thanks for this post.

Constance said...

Thanks for commenting on my doll post. I agree that the Germans are incredibly hard-working and industrious people! After WW1 Germany was in such a depression that it's easy to see how someone as "charasmatic" as Hitler was able to just worm his way into power. He was all about instilling a national pride again as well as economic growth.

Here in America, I hear similar comparisons with Obama and how we need to be watchful about blindly allowing our leaders to "fix" all of our problems for us and viewing them as the ones who are going to "save" us from our problems.

Hugs,
Connie

Felisol said...

Dear Constance,
About Obama;
Over in Europe he's more often compared to F D¨Roosevelt.
I certainly hope that's right.
I hear Dow Jones is going up again, that means better times for the USA, or what?
From Felisol

Dianne said...

I came back to answer your question on my RT :)

we usually call it the exterior - personally I think garment is much lovlier

the RT house is made of wood shingles
many people call it siding but they're really not correct, it's just that the term has become popular

I do believe the shingles were reinforced from inside or under back in 93 as well as treated with something to preserve them

thank you for your interest and for always having something kind to say

Crown of Beauty said...

Thank you for visiting my blog place, for sharing, and for praying. I will continue to pray for you and Gunnar and Serina. I pray God's care and direction will be upon you all.

And Obedient One, she will need time to heal emotionally, the pain of disappointment goes deep in her broken heart, but it is a Divine Surgeon's knife that went through her heart, so I know the healing is coming at the right time.

I have bought her a plane ticket to spend the weekend plus Monday here in Bacolod. Pray it will be an added time of recovery for her.

Thanks for your friendship.

Love
Lidj

EG CameraGirl said...

Your peonies bloom later than mine do and I find that very interesting! I wonder why. I'm so glad yours responded to your loving care!