.

Memories frozen in pinnacles glow,
tattooed in lingering beauty and sorrow
now fade by the light of forgotten tomorrows
with nowhere to go, yet so much to show,
like daffodils in the snow.

Delicate structures that sway to and fro,
in heather green meadows that earth merely borrows
for sprouting the fields of both yarrow and farro.
Despite all the lows, they continue to grow,
like daffodils in the snow.

And what of the tulips that bloom all too soon?
The trees and the bees caught in freeze stop to rest.
Wintering birds sing their summery tunes
and are suddenly silenced when building their nests.
Snowflakes start flying in March’s full moon,
yet the lone golden daffodil weathers it best.

.

.

Shari Jo LeKane lives in St. Louis, Missouri, writes poetry, prose and articles, and specializes in literary criticism, creative writing, Spanish Language and culture, business and community development, educational and leadership development, non-profit matters, disability, elderly care and advocacy. She has a B.A. in English, Spanish, an M.A. in Spanish from Saint Louis University in Madrid and St. Louis, and additional certifications. She teaches Spanish at an HBCU in St. Louis, Missouri, and Creative Writing and Poetry. Shari’s poetry has been published in literary magazines worldwide.

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18 Responses

  4. Yael

    I love how your interesting rhyming scheme tells this story in a way that’s reminiscent of walking down a winding garden path to see the familiar scene which you are describing, to which anyone who’s ever had a garden can easily relate. Well done and very engaging.

    Reply
  5. Leslie Howell

    Very beautiful Shari. You remind me of last weeks daffodils, it was never said better then in this poem.

    Reply
  6. an'ya

    Dear Shari Jo, what a wonderful poem that I enjoyed very much. It changes from verse to verse yet doesn’t lose the rhythm or the point. Thank you, an’ya

    Reply
  7. Margaret Coats

    As Yael says, your rhyme scheme is interesting–even fascinating in its complexity. I’ve remembered at last where I saw something similar (but not the same!). Edmund Gosse published a book entitled “On Viol and Flute” in 1873, and in it he has a lyric sequence called “Fortunate Love in Sonnets and Rondels.” The poems have 14, 15, or 16 lines, with longer ones including a rentrement or refrain such as you have in lines 5 and 10 above. And of course you have the typical 14 lines of a sonnet here, if I ignore your refrains. If I also ignore the “s” ending some of your rhyme words, your rhyme scheme is aaaaA aaaaA bcbcbc. The final sestet is standard Petrarchan, but the ten previous lines on a single end rhyme sound represent a real tour-de-force in English, especially as there are some internal rhymes, too. I don’t recall that Gosse ever attempts anything quite like this poem. He puts a narrative in his sequence, which means that he must offer events/scenes that the reader can put together as parts of a whole. Yael finds a story in “Daffodils in the Snow,” but it is mainly a descriptive story of a garden walk, made up of successive impressions, followed by some more reflective suggestions for thought in the final sestet. Good use of rhyme to effect the “turn” in this meditative poem which is not quite a sonnet! And by the way, if you are interested in what Gosse did, his book is easy to find at Internet Archive.

    Reply
    • Shari Jo LeKane

      Thank you, Margaret, for your insightful interpretations and analysis. I wrote this metaphorical representation comparing the dichotomies of spring (daffodils in the snow) to other metaphysical contemplations of the cyclical nature of life, memories, rebirth, and eternity – originally styled as a Petrarchan Sonnet. However, the unconventional extension or rentrement repeated in lines 5 and 10, “like daffodils in the snow”, as you noted, are much more reminiscent of the Rondeau. I am familiar with Edmund Gosse, and there is no doubt that these classic styles influence and define what I consider Modern Formalism in my writing. Thanks again!

      Reply
      • Margaret Coats

        Right–I was oversimplifying by neglecting accent on the feminine rhymes.

  9. Maria Magdalena Biela

    I do want to perform a dissection on this wonderful poem of Shari Jo: I simply want to feel it. And all I feel is pure joy of reading substantial art, true poetry, the kind I enjoy only reading the classics. Thank you, Shari Jo, for being who you are!

    Reply

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