Saturday, March 2, 2013

Your Tonic Like Hawthorn



Hawthorn berries (Crataegus monogyna) 
Image:  Wikimedia Commons





you’re not
supposed to speak softly

in feather light whispers
at my throat

language foreign
to a scrap like me

my mini-heart flutters
in its hummingbird bones

afraid it might learn how to
cherish me too




Copyright © 2013 Jennifer Wagner


 
*Note:  Hawthorn berries, flowers and leaves are used as an herbal medicine in the treatment of heart and cardiovascular ailments.


Written for dVerse Poetics where Fred Rutherford has us keeping it brief!


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37 comments:

  1. Brian MillerMarch 2, 2013 at 5:30 PM

    oo really nice close on this...and isnt it wonderful to have someone that heals your heart? i like the intimacy of the speaking at the throat as well...

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  2. ScarletMarch 2, 2013 at 6:40 PM

    I really like the last four lines, lovely close ~ Thanks for sharing the info about these berries ~

    Happy weekend ~

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  3. kelvin s.m.March 3, 2013 at 12:01 AM

    'my mini-heart flutters in its..hummingbird bones..' --- i really like that... makes me wish i had thought these lines... nicely... smiles...

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  4. UnknownMarch 3, 2013 at 12:31 AM

    oh, very cool. Not that you could have known, but I find topics to learn about and read up on them as much as I can. I read a lot. Currently it's on acting, but I have a notebook and homeopathy is on the list, with a subheading for herbal remedies, berries and vines. Really neat how this somehow intersects with your poem. Don't know how long it'll be before I get to that learning but was neat to see here, a sort of precursor to knowledge to come. Really nice imagery in here, love the hummingbird couplet. Thanks for sharing tonight

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  5. ClaudiaMarch 3, 2013 at 1:06 AM

    very interesting with the berries and the heart...the whispers at the throat...for me there's much tension on longing and a bit afraid..maybe it's just me..smiles

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  6. alan1704March 3, 2013 at 1:44 AM

    in feather light whispers at my throat - Very nice and an excellent feel to the picture. i can feel the anticipation

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  7. anthonynorthMarch 3, 2013 at 2:23 AM

    Beautiful lines.

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  8. LLM CallingMarch 3, 2013 at 3:25 AM

    that's sobrilliant

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  9. Sabio LantzMarch 3, 2013 at 4:52 AM

    You got me reading on Hawthorne again (I used it as 山査子 - sanzashi in Kampo). Apparently suspect to be a heart tonic but evidence barely shows it holds. Like soft words, ineffective unless the listener stops their bad habit which cause heart failure. Unless the listener and patient learn self-care, self-love, we can really do nothing significant for them.

    Fun image here, great phrasings.

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  10. AnonymousMarch 3, 2013 at 5:37 AM

    love this - especially the "hummingbird's bones". It is so evocative of both strength and fragility simultaneously. Great image.

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  11. Lisa WilliamsMarch 3, 2013 at 5:59 AM

    This is so nice! Another beautiful piece.

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  12. MaryMarch 3, 2013 at 6:20 AM

    Beautifully expressed! Well composed lines with strong images!

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  13. AnonymousMarch 3, 2013 at 8:24 AM

    A very moving lovely poem. So much clever word play - the back and forth of bird language with the featherlight words and your hummingbird bones - even the throat brings up the ruby of that bird. Just lovely. k.

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  14. BodhiroseMarch 3, 2013 at 8:44 AM

    If those berries could help us cherish ourselves that would be potent indeed... Love the delicacy of your write but strong in its message.

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  15. Sherry Blue SkyMarch 3, 2013 at 9:11 AM

    I, too, love the "hummingbird bones". Those berries look like what we call rose hips here. Vitamin C in rosehip tea.

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  16. UnknownMarch 3, 2013 at 9:37 AM

    Wow... this is so beautiful and powerful... the last line is like a punch... and yes, the hummingbird bones... The first two stanzas really got to me also... this is wonderful.

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  17. AnonymousMarch 3, 2013 at 11:37 AM

    First - love the title! And the wistless nature thru the poem and kept coming back to the word - scrap - really nice! K

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  18. aelfbeeMarch 3, 2013 at 11:51 AM

    I like the hawthorn connection, but my hawthorn has thorns so I imagine you still have to remain, if not a scrap, a scrapper.

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  19. FireblossomMarch 3, 2013 at 12:54 PM

    You are so good at those snappy, twisty endings. This says loads in just a few lines. A "mini heart"...where do you get this stuff?

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  20. hedgewitchMarch 3, 2013 at 1:25 PM

    a scrap like me

    that really hits home--a perfect example of why short poetry can often do more in a few lines than a freaking course in philosophy, or ten years of therapy, for that matter. ;_)

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  21. Jessica Lynn LangMarch 3, 2013 at 2:05 PM

    Wow. Such reservation in this poem. Beautiful imagery as well.

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  22. AnonymousMarch 3, 2013 at 3:08 PM

    Sometimes it's only when someone loves us that we learn to see ourselves as loveable.

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  23. UnknownMarch 3, 2013 at 4:01 PM

    Powerful in its brevity and implications. Such depth of feeling, unworthiness, and the possibility of claiming one's inherent value.

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  24. PhotoDictionMarch 3, 2013 at 6:15 PM

    The fragility in the images really struck me. As fragile as the heart and sometimes spirit is. Lovely words in this.

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  25. Dr. Pearl Ketover Prilik (PKP)March 3, 2013 at 7:09 PM

    "feather light whispers and hummingbird bones" a delicate poem conveying a powerful message :)

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  26. SaravMarch 3, 2013 at 7:45 PM

    Hi Jennifer--Your words really convey the fragility, almost afraid to read it again--for fear the words might just crumble :-) Well done!

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  27. SeasideauthorMarch 3, 2013 at 9:11 PM

    Great words here and sensitive!
    Thanks

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  28. kaykualaMarch 3, 2013 at 11:43 PM

    Well crafted Jennifer! Beautiful word-play and imageries! Nicely!

    Hank

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  29. hyperCRYPTICalMarch 4, 2013 at 1:56 AM

    Your words are soft, delicate and quite beautiful.
    'my mini-heart flutters
    in its hummingbird bones'
    Lovely
    Anna :o]

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  30. AnonymousMarch 4, 2013 at 3:28 AM

    Well written poem.

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  31. aka_andreaMarch 4, 2013 at 5:29 AM

    Excellent!

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  32. WolfsrosebudMarch 4, 2013 at 7:08 AM

    do like the intimacy of this

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  33. Brother OllieMarch 4, 2013 at 7:52 AM

    I'm ready to see the hummingbirds again; after reading your poem.

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  34. Rosemary Nissen-WadeMarch 4, 2013 at 8:19 PM

    Exquisite gentleness.

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  35. BriannaMarch 5, 2013 at 8:04 AM

    This is gorgeous, and I absolutely adore your last stanza.

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  36. HeidiMarch 5, 2013 at 8:30 AM

    cool comment on how sometimes the right word from the right person can flip a switch inside that counteracts all the bad comments before. lovely and intimate word choice as well. Plus, I learned about Hawthorn!

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  37. AnonymousMarch 8, 2013 at 10:52 PM

    Such a powerful,beautiful imagery...wonderful play of words too...

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Thank you for your thoughts!

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