Poets & Storytellers United
February 3, 2020
THE FLOWER
It was a slim, blue volume of poems by my favorite 1950’s author, Don Blanding, found one afternoon in a used book store. Once home I settled into my easy chair with a glass of wine beside me, prepared to savor the work of this vagabond poet whose words never failed to capture me. Between the pages I was surprised to find pressed the delicate petals of a single gardenia.
Who put it there? I mused. I lifted it to see the title of the poem below. “To a Lady I Loved”,
a brief story of a friendship spoiled by romance, ending with the line “I liked you so much better when you were just my friend.” How I wished the gardenia could speak and tell me of the lady who loved the poet, and where it all went wrong. I turned the pages and read on….but I left the gardenia where I was sure it belonged, with the secrets it held.
Oh, what a touching and intriguing story!
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful find, Bev! I don’t know of anyone who presses flowers in books, and a gardenia is also quite rare these days. I love the surprise poem and the questions they both evoked.
ReplyDeleteHow beautifully you told her story; it was a delight to read.
ReplyDeleteThis is incredibly touching!💝 The image of the delicate petals of a single gardenia speaks so much of what was and what could have been. Thank you so much for writing to the prompt.
ReplyDeleteI like how that gardenia was a tangible reminder about all the different ways people can be moved by the same piece. You and the book's previous owner had your own reasons for feeling connected to the author. Words can join us in amazing ways.
ReplyDeleteA pressed flower can signify love remembered, or bittersweet memories. Lovely, Bev!
ReplyDeleteGorgeous. Beverly. I never thought of leaving an explanation note with the flower. That makes a tale told, off ones chest for a tiny bit.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the Christmas Cactus story for your family. This is the first year ours has bloomed, it is sux or seven or more years old.
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A melancholy thought of lamentations where two people go to a place they should have stayed away from. Questions linger of the significance of the flower. Thank you for sharing your find.
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