Poetry & Prose by Carol J Forrester
We trained honeysuckle to climb.
Pinched soft, young buds
to encourage growth,
cooed, pinned, tied.
Kept those vines curling upwards
across,
into gaps left barren.
Marvelled at the wild beauty,
the choreographed wild flowers,
the distressed wooden benches.
Artificial imitations.
A modern, cottager’s garden.
It’s the first night back at the Poets Pub after the Christmas break. To kick things off we’ve been given the challenge of writing a quadrille revolving around the world ‘curl’.
Carol J Forrester is a writer and a history geek. Her debut collection 'It's All In The Blood' came out November 2019. She has a 2:1 BA degree in history from Bath Spa University, enjoys judo at least twice a week, and tries to attend poetry events around the Midlands when she can. Her flash fiction story ‘Glorious Silence’ was named as River Ram Press’ short story of the month for August 2014 and her short story ‘A Visit From The Fortune Teller’ has been showcased on the literary site Ink Pantry. Her poems ‘Sunsets’ and ‘Clear Out‘ were featured on Eyes Plus Words, and two of her poems were included in the DVerse Poets Pub Publication ‘Chiaroscuro’ which is available for purchase on amazon.Her poem ‘Until The Light Gets In‘ was accepted and published at The Drabble and her poem ‘Newborn’ was published by Ink Sweat & Tears. She has been lucky enough to write guest posts for sites such as Inky Tavern and Song of The Forlorn and has hosted a number of guest bloggers on her site Writing and Works. View all posts by Carol J Forrester
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This is gorgeous….reminiscent of Elizabeth Gilbert’s “The Signature of All Things”—have you read it? It inspires, as your words here do, such an appreciation for gardening, the earth, and living things!
Thank you, no I don’t think I have read it but I’ll look it up. 🙂 I’m so glad you liked the poem. I’ve been getting into gardening more in the last year but my mother’s garden has always been a wild thing and I rarely worry too much about keeping my own a perfect manicured and in line.
There was just something about the ‘wildness’ of it and the ‘gaps left barren’ that reminded me of that authenticity of Gilbert’s writing. Lovely. I do not have a green thumb at all, by any stretch of the imagination!! I can’t even keep a house plant alive 😛
Well I can’t claim to be much better but I keep trying. 🙂
Love the wild beauty even if its choreographed among the distressed wooden benches ~
Thanks for joining us Carol ~
choreographed wild flowers… wonderful image. Love your take on the prompt.
Thank you very much. It wasn’t my first idea but I was trying to write something a little different from my more recent poems.
My mom kept on doing this to our vines. Love how you put it this way- choreographed. Now I have a term for what she does. 🙂
I’m glad I could be of service. 🙂
Your words conjure a lovely picture.
Thank you.
I like how some plants curl around whatever they can grab onto. It is one way to climb.
Indeed it is. I’ve got some honeysuckle outside and I am training it, but once it’s got a grip on the frame I’ll leave it to do what it wants.
I like the imagery you created in this quadrille. Well done. 🙂
Thank you.
Others have said it, but I will too. The imagery is fantastic. I adore the last 5 lines especially. Well done, poet!!
Thank you very much. I’m so glad you enjoyed it.
I love training vines as you describe (though mine are not honeysuckle.)
Clematis perhaps?
Your words are choreographing the wildflowers of the verse, as it grows it is molded according to the gardener’s whim. Very nice!
Thank you.
🙂
Excellent piece. Love the opening.
I loved the poem for the beautiful images it created using minimal words . Superb writing !
Thank you.
To curl those vines, what wonderful beauty in a garden like that.
Thank you Bjorn. My mother’s garden always ran on the wild side and growing up in the country side I’ve always preferred the rambling mess of wild poppies and bluebells to carefully planted borders.
Oh….you’ve created a beautiful image here. It reminds me of Monet’s Giverny gardens….since I’ve had those on my mind. Beautiful. On the other hand, the taming of wild things can be unnatural…but somehow I still feel the wildness and beauty here. 🙂
Thank you Lillian. I think I’ve seen those gardens, and the odd little house with all the bright colours?
Yes!
such detail pulls the reader to the scene
Thank you. I’m glad that it feels that way in such a short poem.
a veritable vine of imagery perfectly pictured
Thank you. 🙂
Your curly honeysuckle has me longing for the spring when the first wave of honeysuckle runs riot in our garden – there’s some right outside the window by my desk. Beautiful, Carol!
My mother has it growing on the fence outside what used to be my bedroom window. It always smelled lovely.
I love the dissonance (and beauty) of “choreographed wild,” especially.
Thank you. It took me ages to remember the word choreographed. I had to chase it around my head.
I extremely enjoyed your word choice here, it really helped me imagine the scene and see and read the poem two-fold: plainly, and grasp it, but also from a surreal point of view and let it grow inside my mind how I want it. Simple, useful and powerful.
Thank you. It’s so lovely to hear that you took such time to read it.
Love the imagery here! Exquisite write ❤️
Thank you very much. Exquisite. I think that might be a first. 🙂
Perfection. My idea of a perfect garden retreat.
It is a lovely getaway a country, cottage garden.
I like the way you contrast the wildness and the work that’s gone into creating it. well done.
I like how vines curl upward…with the gardener’s (spelling?) efforts.
Typo fixed. Thanks for the heads up.