The dragonfly and I

· by · in poetry. ·

Below the willow’s bough we hid
from warmth, a dragonfly and I.
I whispered words, and danced amid
the leaves with emeralds as eyes,
that day she lulled me softly numb,
I fell asleep, and in my mind
you came, you filled forgotten months
with subtle lies; again so kind
and innocent as summer’s wind.


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Today Kerry inspires us with foreign words at toads to write 55 word poems. Will also link to Poetry Pantry tomorrow.

40 responses to “The dragonfly and I”

  6. I was feeling very warmed by this poem. The atmosphere and the experience created is beautiful, but then the mood changed for me when I saw the word “lies.” Sad that such an experience has a dark side, but I guess that is life.

  7. I love what you did with that first line break, switching the meaning from “hid” (as if it were a sweet time shared together) to “hid from warmth,” which suggests anything but. Still, this piece can’t help but be beautiful. Certainly there’s a touch of sadness, but I think it’s overcome by the unspoken natural interplay between human and insect/weather/tree. Even if there’s a melancholy experienced in our time engaging with nature, it’s certainly a time of peace, reflection, and return to what’s most vital, as well. The filling of forgotten months is a lovely expression, as is the summer wind, which almost tricks us into thinking this is something pleasant. But living where I do, I know summer winds go along with hurricanes, and often, utmost destruction. So that probably isn’t all that innocent after all. That’s who nature is, though. She is deceptively beautiful while holding destructive forces in her heart, as well. What an engaging and thought-provoking poem you’ve shared! Well done.

  10. Those subtle lies are often of our making as we find it hard to accept that the world was not made for us alone. We are so poor at sharing.

  23. Wow. Love what you did with 55 words and that lovely word. I like the imagery of hiding from warmth with a dragonfly. So nice.

  25. I’m always impressed how you manage to “scribble” your way with constraints and come out smelling like a rose. Well done! 🙂

  30. Love that Japanese word….and the beautiful lines you wrote, especially: “you filled forgotten months
    with subtle lies.”

  32. and in my mind
    you came, you filled forgotten months
    with subtle lies; again so kind

    One can be made to believe in all innocence when someone else can be so unjust so as to take advantage.

    Hank

  33. This is beautifully rendered, Bjorn. I love the layers from the whimsical beauty of the dragonfly to the dream-like quality and hints of betrayal to belie the summer’s day.

  39. You tease and obscure and keep your secrets. Who is the dragonfly and who is “she?” And who is “so kind/ and innocent as summer’s wind,” the dragonfly or the lying woman? It reveals just enough to be delicate and tender, but suggests at a bitter ending, nonetheless. Yet you come around to the sweetness, like remembering a lover absent but missed. There’s a lot of longing there. A parched thirst of memory.

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