Tosspot tulip, withered, bowed and bent;
__Severed stem embedded in a vase.
__Natal bed a now-forsaken place.
__Glory passed; its bloom and beauty spent.
Birthed, bedecked, betrothed, by bulb and bee;
__Leaf, to bud, to flower in rainbowed rows.
__Fertile field from which each blossom rose
__Now an empty, barren, earthen lea.
Yet, within still-buried bulbs are found
__Tulips waiting Easter-tide rebirth.
__Life, thought dead, bestirs, enwombed by earth,
__Pulsing sunward, shattering the ground.
Busting forth in resurrection power;
Beauty etched in each resplendent flower.
James A. Tweedie is a recently retired pastor living in Long Beach, Washington. He likes to walk on the beach with his wife. He has written and self-published four novels and a collection of short stories. He has several hundred unpublished poems tucked away in drawers.
This is a gorgeous Easter sonnet, James!
Happy Easter, James, Amy and all SCP poets & readers celebrating today. A while ago, someone once noted that when SCP does time-specific poetry, the poems are sometimes of an inferior quality. NOT TODAY! (Perhaps it’s because the work wasn’t rushed; the quality of the verse is exceptional!) Great job. Also, did I read into the poem … or does the rebirth of the tulip represent something much deeper … like Christ’s resurrection?
E.V. This poem was written last winter as I reflected on a visit my wife and I made the previous spring to see the tulip fields in Skagit Valley, Washington, where 75% of the U.S. tulips are grown . I reflected on two images: The short life of a severed tulip in a vase and how dead and bare the tulip fields must look in mid-winter. I then considered the latent life hidden in the buried tulip bulbs and their anticipated “resurrection” to new and abundant life in the spring. The poem is not meant to be an analogy of Christ’s resurrection (Jesus was truly dead while a tulip bulb is not) but the allusion is intentional and, if you like, I suppose you could call it an allegory. (Note: Two of the posted pictures were taken during our visit to Skagit Valley). Let me add a “Happy Easter” for those of you who are celebrating today.
A very beautiful and moving Easter poem, Mr. Tweedie. And in absolutely perfect trochaic verse!
The sextuple alliteration in line 5 is a tour de force. It’s this sort of unashamed use of the traditional tools of the poetic trade that will eventually bury modernism.
This poem is indeed as beautiful as any flower. Happy Easter!
Hi Jamie,
The poem is lovely and is a beautiful tribute to rebirth…such as our own as we move through each day! Thanks for sharing!
Big Sister
Hello James,
I enjoyed the descriptive power of this lovely sonnet, and also your adherence to form throughout.