Cut me off at the ankles or so you said,
stood astride my stump, saw grinned.
‘Not so pretty now are we’
either of us.
Spent the winter finding my roots,
you brought on your hot house girls
throwing out the deadheads
before they even had chance to wilt.
Spring freshened up all that toughening
from too many years the same.
Found new shoots moving upwards,
more bend, less bark to my bite.
Summer and I redecorated it all,
cloaked myself in colour,
announced my presence, my survival.
Dared you to try cutting me down again.
Carol J Forrester 
As a gardener I recognise this, as a woman I applaud it, as a poet I’m a tiny bit jealous of it.
I had so much fun writing it, so thank you Sarah. I think this might be one of my better poems so I might take it down after a couple of days and work on it a bit more to maybe send out to a journal or two.
I just retweeted it to the universe! Is that OK?
It’s fine. Thanks for the retweet.
Profound and deeply moving Carol.
Thank you Linda
Very strong first person message, the flora unnamed but tenacious in its rebirth and defiance.
Sounds like a flower of determination and strong roots.
I admire the metaphor of rising again in colors,surviving it all.
Thank you Grace.
I like the dare at the end and this line: “more bend, less bark to my bite.”
Thank you Frank. I had great fun with language in this poem.
love how as the seasons changed she grew courage and stood up for herself, you used the flowers to describe each scene so brilliantly
Thank you Gina.
That’s my honeysuckle in your poem, Carol! I can see her wild hair waving in the breeze, right outside my window, defiant with her green leaves, wrangling with the thorny climbing rose. This is my favourite poem. I’m going to print it out and pin it on the wall. I love the personification not only of the plant but also the saw – I can see it grinning! It’s true, when you cut back honeysuckle it looks straggly and not so pretty. I also enjoyed the lines:
‘you brought on your hot house girls’
and
‘more bend, less bark to my bite’.
We’re so lucky with our honeysuckle, as it blooms twice, once in spring and again in the summer.
How beautiful. I love the honeysuckle in our garden, and I had great fun writing this poem. I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much.
A brilliant personification, Carol!
Thank you.
Wonderful, Carol. Those stalwart perennials of the floral and human kind.
Thank you. 😀
I am laughing out loud. I too have completely ceded the battle to the honeysuckle.
Glad I could make you laugh.
The imagery in this was powerful. Thank you.
I’m glad you think so. Thank you.
Not just the wonderful bloom coming but the scent, the scent. Love the comeback from the root and upwards. Amazing strength
Thank you Bjorn. You’re right about the scent, nothing quite like honeysuckle.
You penned a fabulous flowering of a honeysuckled survivor!
I love the humor of: less bark to my bite
honeysuckle is one of my favorite scents in the wild parts around here when it gets warm enough that the smell permeates…