Lotus
First flower, from primeval flooding sprung,
In virtuous, voluptuous perfection,
The lotus favors eye and mind and tongue
With vigor, through life-cheering introspection
Involving ever-vibrant petals white.
Its blossoms affably exchange affection
While practicing rhymed raptures of delight
In measured, complementary reflection.
Escaping deafened depths of murky mud,
Poetic spirits cultivate creation,
For every heart conceals a lotus bud,
One capable of lively generation.
The potent eggs, Nile blue or Ganges pink,
Break open after studied incubation,
To decorate the language-laden link
Between an image and interpretation.
The rooted lotus bears and spreads its seeds
With individual tranquility,
Compassionate and clear in speech and deeds
Of literary sensitivity.
The fruitful elegance of many modes,
From emerald grace to pearl profundity,
Paves golden roads to wonder-filled abodes
That seem to furnish immortality.
Margaret Coats lives in California. She holds a Ph.D. in English and American Literature and Language from Harvard University. She has retired from a career of teaching literature, languages, and writing that included considerable work in homeschooling for her own family and others.
Thank you, Margaret, for this beautiful and sensitive poem, full of delicate and suggestive thought and imagery. I suspect that the lovely alliterative expressions are wholly or largely, as so often in good writing, unconscious. Best wishes, Bruce
Margaret, with your extensive Asian experiences, the lotus is perfectly portrayed with sensational sensitivity. Beyond that, you have the gift of embedding such significant meaning for our lives (“For every heart conceals a lotus bud,
One capable of lively generation.”) Your English language capability is entrancing and nonpareil as I savored every word and phrase. Since reading your first poem on this site, you have been enshrined in my personal pantheon of all-time great poets.
What a great poem. Roy already picked out my favorite line. Beyond that, the rhyming scheme is fantastic and unique (at least as far as I know based on my limited knowledge). Thanks for the great read!
Such a wonderful personification of those blossoms! Excellent work, as always, Ms. Coats!
Margaret, so beautiful! Thank you. Your poem is a metaphor for me of the working of grace in a soul growing progressively closer to God and igniting the same in others.
This poem is lovely in its imagery and musicality, Margaret. I agree with Warren, that the rhyme scheme is fantastic and unique! Very song-like to my inner ear. Beautiful!
It’s a pleasure to find the lotus celebrated so beautifully in your poem. That splendid flower is one of the principal symbols of the Buddha, much admired in art and life. I’m glad to see that your admiration leads on, smoothly and eloquently, to enriched reflection. “Language-laden link” is excellent. The whole poem is decorous and refreshing.
It’s clear you’re an accomplished wordsmith from this poem alone. I really like “To decorate the language-laden link |
Between an image and interpretation.” Stunning and musical language here. Thank you!
I was intrigued by your use of “Nile blue”. According to Egyptian mythology, the Earth was shrouded in darkness, until the sun (i.e, the god Ra) emerged from a blue lotus of the Nile. Did you possibly have this in mind?
Until I moved to Concord, MA, adjacent to the Great Meadows wildlife refuge, my only experience of the lotus was having eaten lotus root at a macrobiotic restaurant in Greenwich Village, NYC. At college, when many of my friends were getting into yoga, I was chagrined that I was unable to assume the lotus position — my legs just wouldn’t bend that way.
In what world does “profundity” rhyme with “immortality?”