Pomology

[~Sophia~]

Pomology - by Lidia Laidlaw pen name ~Sophia~


Strange trees give strange fruit. I was told
you can grow anything in the Dominican

stationary suns veiled in sheer green rain

and I thought - if I cut my hands off
(about four inches below the wrist)
and plant them

palms up, the lines will sprout an
abundant hallelujah, thick knowledge,
a succulent destiny.

Three heats have come and gone.

Now I’m told Mira - messages from
the dead must come a long way.
The drought will end, be patient...

but these blistering fingers tell me
providence has been in my hands
all along.

___________________________

(Mira = Hispanic word for look/listen)

[a_little_wisp]

God ****, this was clever. What an awesome idea!!! That's quite an ending too- a very powerful revelation. :D It sucks though that we have to go to through hellish things before we realize ... the power is in us. :D But I guess we need those hellish things - like in The Last Unicorn, how The Unicorn has to become Amalthea before she can realize her ability, her self-fulfilled destiny.

[~Sophia~]

Thanks Wispy! Sort of a cross between horticulture and palmistry LOL. Oh if we only had crystal balls. It would all be so clear! I wrote that right after I decided I'm leaving the D.R. I swear I've got gypsy blood.

[a_little_wisp]

O_o i think i have gypsy blood too.

[~Sophia~]

Only one way to find out... pick up your knapsack and hit the road - often! Happy feet! http://www.websmileys.com/sm/cool/653.gif

[Lokasenna]

I love the imagery of planting hands, and the phrase "abundant hallelujah, thick knowledge,a succulent destiny" stands out forcefully. Your poetry manages the difficult task of being both simple and deep at the same time.

[Sapphire]

Thank you for sharing, Sopphia.

I had to read this a couple of times before I could get my mind to get past the practical problem of planting ones hands. I was wondering how one could do such, only using the feet. I really like how you write it will grow: "palms up, the lines will sprout", I can see it happen.
I also like the line "stationary suns veiled in sheer green rain" - I wonder though, did this green rain stop when you planted the hands? I mean, because of the drought which is referred to in the 13th line?

I now see I am looking at this poem much too ... erm, realistic? I hope you do not think I don't like it - I really do. It just makes me wonder :)

Sapphire

[~Sophia~]

Hola Lokasenna! Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment. I'm glad you liked the images! Hands seems to appear in a lot of my poems. I think even more than eyes, they express the soul. A force of nature. They can do so much.

________________________________________

Hi Sapphire! This is a vision quest kind of poem so the impossibility of planting my own hands was dismissed in the writing. It's simply about a promise, expectations, disappointment and resolution. I'm pleased you like it!

[Silas Thorne]

I read this when I first came onto the forum, and I think I didn't really get it the first few times. Now out of the mystery of it, the poem soothes my fingers with a touch of rain. Wow!

I think my fingers are not so green as yours are. Make the magic grow. :)

[Eugenie]

Very graphic and vivid and I see it as a moving picture suddenly frozen at a particular moment so that one can stand quietly gazing at the picture and still get the sensations of movement and purpose. Thankyou.

[~Sophia~]

Good evening Mr. Thorne! I'd say your thumb is plenty green where actually, I've been known to overwater a cactus LOL. I'm very happy that it grew on you after a few reads. Thanks Silas!

_________________________________

Hello Eugenie, nice to meet you! Thanks for reading and commenting - always truly appreciated!

[AuntShecky]

This is interesting and the title inspired. Incidentally, have you ever heard or read the lyrics to "Strange Fruit" by Billie Holiday?

[~Sophia~]

Thanks Aunt Shecky. I did remember the song from the movie Lady Sings The Blues when writing the first line of the poem. When I first moved here I was always asking "what kind of tree, fruit or vegetable is that?" thinking how strange they were and the line from that song would pop into my head.

I just looked up the lyrics because I couldn't remember anything except the first line and that it was about the KKK. (I also found this Youtube version that's great. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4ZyuULy9zs

"Southern trees bear strange fruit,
Blood on the leaves and blood at the root,
Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze,
Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees.

Pastoral scene of the gallant south,
The bulging eyes and the twisted mouth,
Scent of magnolias, sweet and fresh,
Then the sudden smell of burning flesh.

Here is fruit for the crows to pluck,
For the rain to gather, for the wind to suck,
For the sun to rot, for the trees to drop,
Here is a strange and bitter crop."

My poem is not as dark as the theme of the song. It's about palmistry (fortune telling) and rather than waiting for fate to step in, actually taking it into my own hands. I wish it was half as good as these lyrics though. POWERFUL! Thanks for inspiring me to go look for it.

[a_little_wisp]

................whoa.

[Virgil]

This is interesting and the title inspired. Incidentally, have you ever heard or read the lyrics to "Strange Fruit" by Billie Holiday?
That was exactlywhat I thought of when I read it.

It's a nice poem Sophia. I kind of liked the ending more than the strange fruit part:

Now I’m told Mira - messages from
the dead must come a long way.
The drought will end, be patient...

but these blistering fingers tell me
providence has been in my hands
all along.

[~Sophia~]

Wispy... I know.

_____________________________

Hey Virge! Glad you like even a portion of it. The planted palms were a lead-in to messages from the dead. In planting them I was hoping the lines in my palms would grow in different directions. You know how every line in your palm supposedly represents a part of your destiny. If that's true, there are a couple of lines on mine I'd really like to change!

[Virgil]

Wispy... I know.

_____________________________

Hey Virge! Glad you like even a portion of it. The planted palms were a lead-in to messages from the dead. In planting them I was hoping the lines in my palms would grow in different directions. You know how every line in your palm supposedly represents a part of your destiny. If that's true, there are a couple of lines on mine I'd really like to change!

Oh I see. I didn't catch that. Makes it much more interesting. :)

[~Sophia~]

Here is a web site where you can read your own... it's fun, kind of LOL

http://healing.about.com/od/palmlines/ig/Palm-Lines/

[Stargazer86]

Wow...I absolutely love this. You have quite a talent there! Thanks for sharing :)

[~Sophia~]

Thanks Stargazer. That's really nice of you to say!