Written after the loss of both parents in the same month and having to sell the home place with so many memories. My Dad was a latent Farmer. He worked in a suit then retired and wore overalls and finally had the garden of his dreams. Mother loved flowers and all pretty things. I miss them still.
Lingering and Longing
I’m lingering to avoid what will, I know, make me cry.
I have sold the old home place and must say goodbye.
My parents are gone and deeply I realize,
that it is from pure longing that I fantasize.
I smell the spring honeysuckle's heady perfume
and through the tall pines I see a silver Carolina moon.
Blueberries are ripe and kissed with morning's dew,
my dad and I are harvesting and eating a few.
Mother’s in sun bonnet bent over the butter bean row,
my Dad in overalls is weeding the garden with his hoe.
Clean clothes waving in the breeze on the line
all crisp and dry, smelling of summer sunshine;
The garden is a profusion of bright impatiens and mums,
apples,pears, persimmons and plums;
there are rows of tomatoes, okra and sweet corn,
a car is rounding the dirt road honking its horn.
I hear the front porch swing with its familiar squeak
and my heart stops beating, I cannot speak.
How can I leave this or say goodbye
to Mother and Dad and to my home,
unwanted tears fill my eyes.
The smells the colors the tastes the sounds,
where else on earth can these be found?
The rusty birdbath, pink dogwoods in bloom
wind chimes playing springtime tunes!
I look back as I put the car into drive
and it's as if they're not gone, but very alive.
They stand in the carport waving goodbye,
as always as I am leaving, I smile and I cry.
I turn and they are gone, it was all in my mind
where the memories will stay with my heart keeping time.
I round the familiar corner take a deep breath and a sigh
I honk the horn twice and whisper my last "goodbye".
copyright 2007 spb
Susan Bagley
Beautiful memories, evoked in a sad setting. The rhyming couplets are natural and unforced, and I like the way the line lengths vary slightly, following your thoughts.
Familiarity in this one, Susan...
Superb penning Susan and this nostalgic poem had me entranced from beginning to end. The sensations of smells, colors , sounds and taste weave the magic of your parent's love of their home place. Your last stanza is so touching my eyes are watering~~
A heart-wrenching time for sure. Written with such pathos.