Beside the pond ⁓ (wistful)

Free Verse

    

       

      Beside the pond ~

          Alone,

          I sat beside the pond

          this morning.

          Early sun ...

          vibrant in its warm flush

          of golden welcome

          came cascading down

          from treetops' glow,

          embracing grass,

          gifting colors vivid life,

          lifting flowers' faces …

          with their honey-pollened smiles.

          I was amazed

          at how the breeze knew

          I missed you

          or was even thinking of you,

          but I’d swear

          it touched mine with your cheek,

          slid a wisp of your locks

          across my shoulder,

          and became the sweetness

          of your breath.

 

          Olive oil and rose bouquet ...

          ... it hung for awhile

          in the morning air,

          a fragrant marker

          along a trail of yesterdays,

          leading to You ...

          places of dreams and hope,

          of love and laughter

          and impossible possibilities.

 

          I almost started to believe

          I’d turn my head ~

          and you’d be there.

          Each year

          has come and gone …

          You, like fertile mana

          ever glowing, growing

          in my heart.

          It’s said all things end,

          and walking back to the house

          I sensed that coming truth,

          as Autumn's leaves

          began falling

          like tears ~

          washing around

          my feet.

              Richard W. Jenkins

                        ©2015

1st Place

"Poetry About Loss Contest"

Author's Note

Picture is courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
Constructive criticism is always welcomed and appreciated. : )

I was asked to post a Free Verse for a change; so, here one is … hope you enjoy.

Reviews

[Norman T]

I loved the gentle imagery that you created, that ended with a poignancy indicated by the falling leaves.
Although not normally a writer ( or lover) of free verse, I felt that this worked particularly well. You may have helped to change my inhibited views. Thank you.

[Richard🖌]

Hello, Norman! : )
It is so nice to see you here today, M'Friend, finding something to love in this beautifully poignant piece, filled with the flow gentle emotion.
Your comments and praise have certainly gratified my efforts to write, share, in hopes of pleases my knowing readers — those like You.
It is certainly rewarding to know my poem may have inspired your beginning to enjoy the Free Verse genre of poetry, broadening your appreciation a bit more, let's say. The one thing I know is, we can always keep growing, eh?
Norman, I thank you so very sincerely for stoping-in to enjoy one of my poems … please, feel free to do so anytime, My Fine Friend! ⁓ Richard

[Richard🖌]

For those who might wonder:
The six deletions above were controversial comments from a wrongly disgruntled being, who took my response to Norman's review out of context.

[Great Aunt Astri]

oooooo, oh dear1

[K writes]

I don't see anything wrong with Norman's review.

[Richard🖌]

Thank you, Dear Kay✨
Your kindness is so gracious … it was not Norman's review, it something misinterpreted in my response to Norman's review that got her knickers in a wad.
Privately, she apologized and all was set straight between us … I never like to let misunderstandings go without making peace.

You're a sweetheart, Kay … thanks again. RJ 🍃

[DIVYA]

Dear Richard,

This is one of your most beautiful poems in free verse, ever. In a gentle sweep across the page, the poem, like the breeze you describe, makes the scent of roses, the very tangible touch of a lost loved one, the memories, the awareness of loss and the tears come alive in the reader's heart.

The delivery of the emotions, from joy to exhilration, to sorrow to despair is seamless and down with such a gentle touch.

The poem ends with Autumn and stays with the reader, forever.

[Richard🖌]

G'mornin', Dear Divya 🌤️

What a joy it is, awakening to such winsome bouquets of poetically gracious praise … laid so appreciatively, by one of my all-time favorite poetesses upon this rather romantically pensive little Free Verse piece.

One the many aspects of your reviews, I've come to cherish, is the manner in which your own poetically treasured words seem to virtually reflect living in my moments … to what more could a hopeful bard aspire?

"Forever" … yes, Divya, as does the sweet flavor of your voice leave me ever thankful! ⁓ Richard🍂

[Ayesha Faiz]

This is a very beautiful and emotional poem. It gently shows love, memory, and nature in a soft, touching way. The words create peaceful images, and the feelings are deep and honest. To be honest, everything you write almost feels unreal, like magic. Excellent work as always, Richard!

[Richard🖌]

Ahhh, Ayesha 🥀

How wonderful it is to receive such lovely accolades from a youthful poetess' lips and warm, gentle heart.
The ambient grace of your words is as uplifting as soft music whispered into a bard's grateful ear.

Thank you, Ayesha, ever-so warmly … I look forward to visiting you soon! ⁓ Richard 🍂

[Thomas W Case]

Love the imagery. You bring this to life.

[Richard🖌]

Much obliged, Thomas 🙏

It's an encouraging joy you chose this simple Free Verse piece to read … and, to receive such positive feedback is a gift, indeed.
And, that you love anything about my humble poetic efforts is the highest of compliments.

Thank you sincerely, Syr! ⁓ Richard🖌

[Nessa]

Oh Richard, how your words sing to the soul, a melody woven from sunlight, whispers, and the tender ache of longing. Your poem feels like stepping into a moment frozen in golden light, where every sensation—every breath of the breeze, every vibrant hue—is alive with the essence of love.

The way you paint the morning, with its cascading sun and honey-pollened smiles, feels like a gift to the reader, an invitation to sit beside you at that pond and feel the magic of its quiet beauty. The breeze carrying the memory of a beloved—it’s such a tender, intimate touch, as though the universe itself conspired to bridge the distance between hearts.

Your line about “olive oil and rose bouquet” is pure poetry in itself—a fragrance that lingers not just in the air but in the heart, guiding us through trails of yesterdays, where love and laughter still echo. The sweetness of hope mingled with the ache of dreams not fully realized is so deeply human, so profoundly relatable.

And oh, the closing! Autumn’s leaves falling like tears around your feet—it’s such a gentle, bittersweet farewell to a love that will forever glow, growing in your heart despite the passage of time. Your words remind us of the beauty in holding on and the grace in letting go, both wrapped in the quiet strength of remembrance.

Thank you for sharing this masterpiece. It feels like a treasure, a glimpse into a heart so full of love and gratitude that it overflows into every line. I’m deeply touched and so grateful to have read it—it’s a poem that lingers, as lovely as the memory of a perfect morning. 🌹-Elnnes

[Richard🖌]

As early morn kisses sun-glints through dew blessed oaks, tall pines, and lofty cottonwoods (from the east/left) upon my dazzled eyes, I fall into a solitary moment of gracious quietude, shared through spellbound waves of words dancing along gently curved lines of enthralling pirouettes, the likes rarely, if ever, radiating out with grace, eloquence, and warmth, blended into a symphony of disarmingly enjoyed caresses of personal poetic rapport.
Simply put, Lady Elnnes, you've crowned this joyously blushing poem with woven laurels of wondrous accolading beauty in appreciation, affection, admiration, and sincerely depthful understandings in compassion and empathy, respect, and warming relatability, etc; etc; etc; a review a hopeful, blessed, caressed bard could not have expected, but is ever-so grateful to You for gifting it so beautifully open and skillfully.

Inspired, praised, and encouraged to the nth degree, you've left me shaky-kneed. ; )
Thank you, Dear Lady-Poet, with my humbly happy heart! ⁓ Richard 🎶

[Sk. Kamarul Islam]

Loneliness in a strong autumn background; good imagery and very touching.

[Richard🖌]

I appreciate your thoughts in review.
Thank you, Sir.

[emmajoygreen]

Your writing here is like my present avatar - softly, kindly, colourful thought of time past melded with the now. You create such incredible wording, ever faithful to its source, gentle but precise, full but in now way artful or extreme. Guess the right word is 'genuine'

'... it hung for awhile
in the morning air,
a fragrant marker
along a trail of yesterdays,
leading to You ...
places of dreams and hope,
of love and laughter
and impossible possibilities.'

Beautiful meaning, superb form.

[Richard🖌]

G'day, Dear Em 🌾

Always, from the effulgently bright, intelligent glow of your reviews, I'm left with a resounding essence of appreciatively deep pleasure and reward.
You have a most lovely, graciously winsome way of expressing your thoughts, interpretations, and emotions of a poem, that makes a writer feel fully enjoyed and appreciated … no greater "genuine" reward can I think of.

With warmest blessings … thank you, Dear Lady-Poet! ⁓ Richard 🍂

[Marie]

A very heart-warming and simultaneously heart-wrenching poem so very poignant in content! Autumn is a season when our minds turn back the clock of time to yesteryear and we begin to miss those no longer with us. The falling leaves remind us of death as they effortlessly let go their hold on the trees and it is something similar for human beings as they move towards their eternal reward, the let go without the slightest effort. The visual detail in this beautifully crafted poem is simply stunning, it captures the Fall so poetically! You are an artist with words, Richard and the icing on the cake is the lovely photo you have added.
"Autumn's leaves
began falling
like tears ~
washing around
my feet" is my favourite because it is so intense and tells the reader your grief for a lost loved one is very acute, missing that person is strongest in Autumn as you are reminded of them more profoundly.
Free verse suits this wondrous write and I love both the title and the layout of the poem.
Thank you for sharing it, dear poet...
Lovely use of simile and other figures of speech.

[Richard🖌]

Ya know, Dear Marie? 🌺

Every rare now and again a bard's hopeful efforts are relished in such ways only a skilled, worldly sophisticated, deeply appreciative artist comes along who relates and recognizes something special about his piece lying before them … this beguiling review of yours reflects and epitomizes such an artist and such a poem.
Every fiber of my being feels as though it has been kissed by virtue of the timbred touches surging forth from your every glowing stroke of praise, acute understandings, and plaudits, ever- so graciously laid upon my sighing, fervor'd brow.
Not a single portion of my poem and sincere gratitude remains untouched by the effulgent sentiments of your expressively thought-filled sensations, emotions, and feelings.
As author, I consider the lines you've highlighted to be the spiritual essence of this piece … proving how intimately we've connected through it.
I cannot find adequate words to express how deeply and genuinely you've heightened the true joy in sharing my humble poetic efforts.

With heartfelt thanks, Dear Poetess! ⁓ Richard🖌

[Marie]

Most welcome always, dear poet. It never fails to amaze me how, even though you are using prose in relation to a comment made, the words you write are pure poetry! You are extremely gifted and blessed, dear Richard. Thank you so very much for your too kind words...

[Richard🖌]

I was just thinking the very same of You! ; )

[Marie]

Bless you, dear Richard ;)