We who with songs beguile your pilgrimage / And swear that Beauty lives though lilies die, / We Poets of the proud old lineage / Who sing to find your hearts, we know not why ... (James Elroy Flecker)

30.4.19

For My Inspirations


For day 30 of April Poems at 'imaginary garden with real toads, we are invited to write a poem of praise to a source of inspiration, in 30-60 words. (Mine is 60.)  


For My Inspirations

This is Samhain,
the night when my most dear dead 
come close, 
and the honoured ancestors too.

The love we shared in life,
the character traits passed down,
all shape me

and shape and inform
the lines I write.
Bless me now with your wisdom

and be welcome at my feast.
The lantern is lit, and the fire.
Come, sit!












(Some of you may be thinking, 'What's she on about? This is Beltane'. But no – I live in the Southern Hemisphere.)

23 comments:

  1. It has been an amazing month of poetry writing and I have so enjoyed your work, Rosemary. Thank you for your support - I take your responses to heart.

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  2. Ah, I love when the dear dead gather 'round. There are so many of them now.

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  3. A lovely piece- the lantern is lit, and the fire... love that atmosphere...

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  4. Wonderful — that is certainly a very lovely praise. The best sources of inspiration are perhaps the people who have been a part of our lives indeed. :-)

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  5. It has been such an incredible month of poetry writing! Wishing you and yours a blessed Samhain.

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    1. It has indeed. I think we've all been excelling ourselves.

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  6. Our ancestors... I love finding out more about them (and finding new ones)... and bonfires somehow amplify their spirits - or so I think.

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  7. May your Samhain be blessed and may you find wisdom and above all peace in the day.

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  8. Oh, I have been so blessed by your poetry this month. May the fire continue to burn.

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  9. Your poetry is always a source of inspiration to me Rosemary dear. Blessed Beltane to you.

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    1. Oh, thank you. What a lovely thing to be told!

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  10. I've so enjoyed reading your words this month Rosemary! This is lovely.

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  11. Lovely. Rosemary. Your inspiration for writing so often is your love for and the missing of him, your deceased husband. Also your your deceased kitty.
    One of my cousins and I are most like my reprobate grandfather but he isn't muse material for writing . I had a hard time and for some reason (my muse??) the Licorice popped into mind.
    ..

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  12. This is really beautiful Rosemary, and what a moving tradition! Thank you for responding regarding Blogger site settings. I have absolutely no problem commenting on your Blogger site because your setting allows me to enter my name and URL address, which enables verification of my comment. There are a number of other poets with Blogger sites which do not allow me to enter my name and URL address for verifucation, so my comments don’t post - they just disappear.

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  13. Inspiration from ancestors and the light. Lovely.

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  14. To think of our ancestors... and yes for me it's end of November... here we just passed Walpurgis

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  15. A lovely invitation to both the dead and the living, Rosemary.

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  16. I hope you had a great day and night with all your loves, who have gone to the Summerlands. I hope Selene's first Samhain was a joyous one (I suspect it was powerful). I hope you told each other stories... and smile knowingly around the fire.

    Happiest Samhain, Rosemary!

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  17. Loved reading your poems this month, Rosemary. I'm sitting at the fire,
    but sadly, I am invisible.

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DON'T PANIC IF YOUR COMMENTS DON'T POST IMMEDIATELY. They are awaiting moderation. Please allow for possible time difference; I am in Australia. ALSO, IF YOU ARE FORCED TO COMMENT ANONYMOUSLY – do add your name at the end, so I know it's you!