Sprig Spell

I build the spell
with witch hazel,

a woody frame
to brighten gloomy days
with spidery flowers
in sunset sprays,
sublime with spicy scent.

I bind the spell
with tendrils of evergreen

ivy to ward off evil spirits,
its heart-shaped leaves
glossy with friendship and fidelity.

I add some sprigs of rosemary
to help you to remember me.

Kim M. Russell, 24th July 2018

 

My response to dVerse Poets Pub Poetics: The Language of Flowers, also linked to Imaginary Garden with Real Toads Tuesday Platform

Sarah is our host this Tuesday and she would like us to communicate like Victorian belles and beaux, using the language of flowers, which she says was a positive craze in the 19th Century, although flowers have always had a language of their own. Sarah gives us examples from Shakespeare and Brontë, and points us to an article about Victorians’ encoded messages in bouquets, as well as giving us a list of flowers and their meanings.

Sarah asks us to write poems that use flowers and their meanings – a whole bouquet or a single bloom. 

57 thoughts on “Sprig Spell”

  4. It reads like an incantation, and you use the flower language so perfectly here. I can almost feel the bouquet in my hands. I also like the fact that it would work as a seasonal bouquet. You nailed the prompt perfectly.

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  12. the language of flowers – as messages, as spells – bewitching or possibly blackest of magic?
    all possibilities lie within these realms – one must be careful in the choosing!

    this is a lovely poem – the sprig of sprigs – and blooms – well done and chosen, and fascinating for the way you’ve woven language into an incantation of sorts … I like it – it breathes life for the fire of wishes ….

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  13. kaykuala

    I add some sprigs of rosemary
    to help you to remember me.

    It would be most satisfying when we can influence events through our mown insistence

    Hank

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  23. It’s odd, but the mere mention of Rosemary brings about the memory of its smell.
    I love the mystical feel to this. The bit about ivy reminded me of yew trees in graveyards and the pagan superstitions that they kept bad spirits at bay.

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    1. Thank you, Carol. Plants are magical and mystical. I prefer this kind of sprig to a traditional bouquet, but mostly I like plants to be left to grow in the soil. 🙂

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  26. Pingback: Sprig Spell – Sorcha's Tarot

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