Don College
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87-121 Watkinson St
Devonport TAS 7310
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Email: don.college@education.tas.gov.au
Phone: 03 6424 0200

Poems - English Writing 3C Students - Spring Party

spring_party.jpg

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