Poems - English Writing 3C Students - Spring Party
John Singer Sargent, Carnation Lily Lily Rose, 1885, oil on canvas, Tate Britain, London
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Spring Party
Worn boards creak as
a woman rocks in her rocking chair.
She gazes at the children –
faces bathed in a firefly glow,
arranging their lanterns among carnations,
or handing them to
a tree’s waiting grasp.
They dance through the lilies,
grass stains on their knees
frilly nightgowns snagging twigs.
Tiny ghosts playing tag as the evening fades.
Cars grumble up the winding drive,
crunching on the gravel.
A scolding voice calls;
footsteps plod up the hall stairs,
freshly plucked lilies shedding petals on the floor,
a delicate trail of tears.
With beds left untouched
and noses pressed against icy glass,
they watch ladies dressed as butterflies
flitting in the garden,
Silk wings lit by the amber breath of lanterns.
Lullaby waltzes carry them to bed,
curling up to drown in rosy feather dreams.
Emma Ollington