PLASTIC ROSES

This is another poem I wrote in Catalunya recently. I did in deed walk into a bedroom and find a bouquet of plastic roses. They looked so sad.

pink plastic roses

arranged at the factory

cast in a cheap crystal vase

now they have sun damage

their too bright artificial colours are faded

dust clings to the creases

have I ever seen anything so sad?

I am not sure

they would give a divorce a photo-finish

I speak from experience

I am in a rented room

for reasons I will not go into

I open the wardrobe

place the bouquet on the floor

close the door

get on with my life as best I can

This is a character poem. I think that some readers may assume everything the poet wites is directly autobiographical, that when the poet uses the first person, they are talking about real events from their life. This may not be the case. As I said above my response to seeing the plastic flower arrangement was to think how forlorn they looked. However this was a pivot point, something to explore rather than record my own feelings about the stimulus. I am not sure I will do anything with this poem. Sometimes simply writing the poem is all that is necessary.

Here's Shawn Colvin with Another Plane Went Down.

Until next time.