The memory will never fade
of roses grown in mountain sun,
the coolness of magnolia shade.
The garden where our children played,
the spreading trees for climbing fun,
the memory will never fade.
The twitterings the sparrows made
were fantasies of music spun
in coolness of magnolia shade;
the evergreens in hues of jade
and frigid pool refreshing one,
the memory will never fade.
The chaise-longue where at last we laid
our bodies when the work was done;
the coolness of magnolia shade.
It ended. We would not have stayed,
the term decided once begun,
yet memory will never fade,
the coolness of magnolia shade.
© Margaret I. Gibson Bates, All rights reserved
Author notes
Tehran, 2000-2002
Published in WINS Verlies.Gained LOSS ISBN 978-0-620-40296-5
Myra Magdalena Lochner Editor
KREATIV 2008 SOUTH AFRICA
In a list
A contest entry
- HUGUENAUTIES CONTEST # 30 FOR HUGH WYLES FAVOURITES GROUP ONLY by huguenauties.
750 points, ended March 24, 2008, 10 entries
Silver trophy winner
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
Please tell me what you think.
Comments
1 - 30 of 30
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A package of memories
to open at will,
told in beautiful form,
not faded still.
A striking beauty, this piece!
Aesthete
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Thank you for your appreciation, Aesthete! I am lucky to have such experiences and the leisure to write them.
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A capsule
of sweet memory retained...able to be opened and enjoyed once again...lovely gentle poem Margaret, warm congratulations on the Silver..Hugs Lib x x
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Thank you Libithina. I'm happy you enjoyed this memory. We had some nice times; after school the boys would jump in the pool, and I would read under the tree.
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Soft days of summer and family make for such mesmeric memories. I envision the blossoms the cool magnolia shate and the evergreen of jade. Serene. ~ Karen
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Wonderful Margaret
On winning the Silver trophy.
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Congratulations Sweetpea
On your Silver trophy.
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Congrats
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Congratulations, Margaret!
Your lovely villanelle deserved a trophy!
Very nicely done!
<3 Maureen
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Beautiful Villanelle, and I remember you mentioning Iran and your mixed feelings about it. It's obvious it left a lasting impression, and a pleasing one too. I'm not sure but I believe I read some of those emotions toward the end of the poem.
I like the relaxing feel of the poem.
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I so enjoyed the style of this poem
and the content as well ... and there is nothing sweeter than the smell of magnolia blossoms warmed by the sun! Sounds like your senses hold special memories. I liked the way you laid out this villanelle form as it helped stretch out the repeating lines in a pleasant way. Very nice and good luck in the contest. joy
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Dear Margaret,
For this belated observation
I hope that I may be forgiven.
I'm suffering acute stagnation
although by conscience lately driven.
Your evocative villanelle is admirably crafted and presents idyllic imagery of happy years spent in Teheran. I especially love this stanza:
"The chaise-longue where at last we laid
our bodies when the work was done;
the coolness of magnolia shade."
"The memory will never fade."
Well done, my dear! Best of luck in the voting.
Applause, love and hugs, XXX Hugh (R.)
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Thank you dear Hugh, I really cannot complain, when you are run ragged by houseguests. Thank you for your kind words and applause for this idyll. It is a a strange setting, but the garden was respite from all the oddness around us. Thank you for your kind messages of the season.
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Dear Margaret,
Your poem is very beautiful.
Memories of our time with our children are very precious, the memory of the time you watched them as you sat under the Magnolia tree is a blessing. My children are grown now and live in Australia and even though we talk on the phone I still miss them. Hold onto the memories as they grow up so quickly.
Love Hine.
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Thank you Hine - I'm trying to gather and hold good memories. My boys have not left home yet, but it is coming soon. I call my mom (not enough), and I miss my dad very much.
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Very well done, Margaret and beautifully remeniscant of pleasant times gone by. Our memories are so important to us and all the better that we can set them to poetry
Good luck in the contest
Dee
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Thank you Dee. It is pleasant to reinforce the good memories and let the bad ones fade away.
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Dear Margaret,
Very nicely done! Such nice memories to share of a lovely place and time! I wish the memories were mine!
<3 Maureen
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Dear Margaret,
It must have been wonderful lying on the chaise-lounge under the Magnolia tree watching your boys at play.
It's wonderful to have such beautiful memories.
I love your poem and enjoyed reading it immensely.
Love Jen
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Yay, thank you Jen. We have good memories of our home life at that time, as we do in general.
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"The memory will never fade
of roses grown in mountain sun,
the coolness of magnolia shade."
Oh! I missed its beauty the first time 'round, and you do it with such simplicity.
I understand what you mean about the 'term' having been decided before it even began. I have just fallen victim to this myself. So blindingly obvious in restrospect, isn't it? (and, my poem http://allpoetry.com/poem/3985349 "Autonomous Disingenuity" is on exactly this topic, not to fish for a review but because I believe you will relate).
Marvellous.
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Thanks for your comment and applause, I'm happy you found it beautiful. The term was literal - this is a place where my husband worked for two years, and then we moved somewhere else. Readers relate to their own experience, which often gives added poignancy to their interpretation. Thank you very much for the return reading.
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Yes , thi sis a beautiful piece of poetry, loved this
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Thanks very much Bill.
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Dear Sweetpea, even though you haven't signed your name, and Anonymized has shown up, I know it's you by the picture and your comments.
A lovely Villanelle, the magnolia is a lovely flower.
It wonderful to have the memories of sitting under the tree watching your children play. They certainly are treasured memories.
Thank you for entering our first monthly contest.Good luck in the voting.
Love Joan
PS. Please sign your name at the end of your poem.
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Oopsie! Thank you Joan, I'll add my name right away.
Any time I can sit in the garden, it is a taste of heaven. Even a pair of active boys seem like angels.
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It is a very special kind of shade where fragrant blossoms add their blessings to the days.
Asked for emotional response, there was a sense of contentment and peace, gladness that it was part of the rich stock of life-memories you are collecting, and pleasure in having received some of it here.
The repeating form of the poem suggests repeated experience, as in many pleasant days with children there, kept cool in the shade. It is in memories like these that reality remains alive.
Thank you for sharing!
Terry
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Thank you Terry. In Farsi, the magnolia is called lemon flower, for its scent. It was very pleasant to remember those days while writing. I used to watch the boys swim in the pool, sometimes I would swim too. I'm glad you liked this.
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This is a new form to me but i can see from reading it the rhyme pattern used It is beautiful and while reading seems of calm and soothing,may be something to do with the subject matter but i like to think it is your use of words Excellent Good luck in the contest
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Thank you for your kind comment, Legend. This poem is a villanelle, it has two rhymes and two refrains as you see. I enjoy the repetition, and I'm happy you did too. It was pleasant to think about the garden of the house where we lived for a short time.
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