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Lilac
by
Jeff Burt Clay, loess, soil, mica—
it’s all dirt when a shoe
drops deposits in your house
or the dog escapes you
at the door and races over
carpet and rug, then returns
to the outdoors as if to say
what’s out should be in
and what’s in should be out.
You sink, the bellows
of your chest fully deflate,
your ribs the naked keel of a boat.
You breathe in, and there it is--
lilac, scent having crept around
the corner and surprised you,
lilac, like a childhood
friend you’d forgotten
suddenly standing at the door,
lilac--you take a full draft,
intoxicate quickly, skip
to pick a single sprig,
then another, another,
placing one in each room
in glass, vase, or vial,
giddy to know in the middle
of the night you will find yourself
nose over lilac.
© by Jeff Burt.
Used with the author's permission.
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Jeff Burt lives on the Central Coast of California with his wife. He has worked in electronics and mental health administration. Jeff claims to have learned about never-ending energy from his grandchildren, and about perpetual motion opportunities from his Labrador; he is grateful for both. You can see more of Jeff's work here, and learn more about him at http://www.jeff-burt.com.
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CamilleBalla:
I miss the lilacs and can relate to Wildas comment. I used to bring a sprig home from my walks along the path in our subdivision. Nice poem, Jeff, about picking a single sprigintoxicating.
Posted 05/05/2024 11:45 AM
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bobbi43sml@aol.com:
Lilacs and memories ahh, learned to finally ride a bike around my Grandmas huge bushes, picked hundreds for my daughters wedding ( somehow the date she chose worked) ,but my most acute memory
has to do with breathing in .. so over zealous that Gran had to remove the flowers from my nose ..lol
Posted 05/05/2024 08:41 AM
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Darrell Arnold:
Lilacs stand right outside my office door. I can't escape their lovely scent, and I don't want to. Alas, they're only here for a couple weeks, and then they're gone. Mine hung on until May 3rd. I hate to see them go.
Posted 05/05/2024 08:16 AM
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Wilda Morris:
I'm somewhat angry with myself for not having planted lilac bushes when we first moved into this house! I miss having them!
Posted 05/05/2024 08:09 AM
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Larry Schug:
It's like lilacs used to be "the people" flower". Every yard was graced with them. You could just pick a blossom anywhere and bring it to your mom. (or so a dumb kid thought back then.) Thanks for a nice memory, Jeff.
Posted 05/05/2024 07:48 AM
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