The sky is blue, the lawns are smooth and green,
a night-time rain has freshened all the flowers.
The village has a calm and sure routine
and pleasant work fills up our daytime hours.
When hunger growls, I reach a hand to take
delicious fruits that grow above my head.
Whenever it is hard to stay awake,
I sleep, the garden makes a fragrant bed.
The springtime freshness never palls, and yet
the harvest waits. The seasons modulate
from warm to cool; and here I may forget
the blast of winter, summer stays sedate.
A dream of Eden, or a golden age -
we each have ills this haven would assuage.
Margaret I. Gibson Bates
Author notes
Written October 12, 2005, by the contest holder, this poem is not eligible for awards.
A contest entry
- HUGUENAUTIES CONTEST No. #50 Dreams by huguenauties.
750 points, ended November 22, 16 entries
• next poem in this contest, • Add to finalists list, or remove from contest
Thank you for reading
Comments
1 - 18 of 18
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Your lovely words have warmed me up on this chilly windy day. They make me feel as though I've stepped into a greenhouse in full bloom which is what daydreams are supposed to do.
Thanks so much for sharing yours.
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Very pleasant poem..a joy to read!
♥ Maureen
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The village has a calm and sure routine
for some reason this line stood out for me. It speaks to me of a bygone age with little traffic and women out shopping having time to chat over garden gates.
Not many places like that these days still that's progress I suppose.
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Dear Margaret,
Who, in his mind, with cares and troubles fraught,
does not retreat into some fancied place,
perhaps from childhood or experience taught,
wherein a haven grants him transient grace?
Maybe through thoughts of Summertime or Fall
or even Winter turning into Spring,
will dreams of Eden captivate the mind.
Maybe the splashing of a waterfall
or rustling leaves, bright flowers or anything
other than duties drive grey cares behind.
Ah! Pity the imagination short
unable to escape the restless race
necessity's reality has brought
where dreams alone provide relieving space.
A beautiful non-entry, Margaret, which is a worthy inspiration for your contest.
I think it also fitting that you should host Huguenauties FIFTIETH contest with such an all-embracing subject.
I am sorry to have been spo tardy in commenting on your beautiful sonnet which I wanted to answer with a sonnet but had to wait for my brain to restore itself sufficiently to do so.
Applause, love and hugs, XXX Hugh (R.)
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When I review all the trouble we humans make for ourselves and each other I simply cannot figure out quite why: there is enough pain in life to deal with for us all. Why do we invent more? What a beautiful scene you describe. If this would be, and if it would come to feel normal, how lovely life would be: fighting illness and the inevitability of death, and the tragedy of illness and accident: these are woes enough, yet we seem to be like a pack of wild small imps stirring up hornets nests and then yelping in surprise as we're all stung, then striking out to hurt each other.
You who seek peace have created peace. Here is a beautiful little fourteen line haven against the discord of the world. May this little seed you've planted in our hearts reap whole realms of sweet peace and good fortune for you.
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Thanks Purrsanthema
Very true, as has been said for ages, Man is born to trouble as sparks fly upward.
Peace begins with our own decision to seek it, and cannot come from outside. We will never control all the variables and find a perfect situation, so we must make the situation perfect by accepting variety and savouring difference. Even that may not be enough, but we can always start again!
Thank you for your benediction, I need it.
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Dreams like this one can trespass
to suspend the worries of the day!
I hope your own dreams may surpass
even the very greatest we can say.
Judging by that, will my muse
deign to help me, or refuse?
Terry -
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Thanks Terry
dream a little dream to set the mind on a better path! Cheers and hugs, M
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"we each have ills this haven would assuage."
And I think we each have this very dream.... or is it remembrance of some lost idyllic lifetime? Thank you for letting us know that the dream is a common one. I truly look forward to the day we all wake to this dream...
Rahad
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Thank you
Rahad, for your encouraging words. I think this is the golden age that all can remember or anticipate. When we all want it enough, maybe it will come.
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What a wonderfully calming mood this pulled me into. Your phrasing and melody work together in a fine duet. Every word seems to fall into place so gracefully. A delight to read your poetry, Margaret.
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Thank you Mary
I have need of calm, so I pulled this one out of the archive. This is a difficult period in my life, and I am seeking joy where I can find it. All the best to you!
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Thank you
You've always been one of AllPoetry's stellar intellectual poets with a well read muse that takes our hand to help our vocabularies grow. So, I've once again been off Googling definitions. Thanks for making me stretch and grow like a spring flower nourished by intellectual nutrients.
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Dear Sea, you are always welcome. I am basking in gentle sunshine today.
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This poem is a dream and a pure joy to read aloud. Too bad it isn't in the contest for judging. Bravo!
Love,
Amera♥
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Thanks Amera. This is a dream I like to relive from time to time.
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Your poem?
reminds me of where I live and why I live there. It reads nicely. Is this your poem like it says? and if so are you the contest holder? (read AN) joy
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Yes, Joy, it is the custom of Huguenauties group for the host to enter!
I wrote this October 12, 2005, but it has not been seen here for years.
Can I visit you for a week or two?? Thanks for applause!
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