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Feral Tenacity
by
Patricia Williams


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I’m not a hothouse flower,
a rose with satin skin,
a blossom of waxy perfection,
here for merely a day.

I am a wildflower,  
a perennial in an open field
that explodes
with perfumed abundance ‒
my essence
emerging like hidden fragrance.
 
I am a weed,
lithesome and supple,
sprouting free
in the cracks of a city sidewalk,
on the boundaries
of an uptown boulevard.                        

See me in the sunshine,
see me in the rain.
I’m not a hothouse flower,
I’m no man’s boutonniere,
and I’m not some shrinking violet
here for merely a day.  


This poem first appeared in the Nancy Smith Exhibition Catalog, Chapel Hill, N.C.  
Women Speak: Portraits, Poetry, and Prose of the Feminine Experience, 2019.
Used here with permission.



Patricia Williams and her husband live in central Wisconsin amid farm fields and abundant wildlife. She began writing poetry after retiring from 32 years of teaching Art and Design. Poetry, she feels, is painting with words, both using the same design principles. Patricia's work appears in many journals and anthologies, and she is the author of The Port Side of Shadows, a poetry chapbook about her travels, and Midwest Medley: Places & People, Wild Things & Weather, which received an Outstanding Achievement Award from the Wisconsin Library Association. Her most recent book is Rejection to Acceptance: 57 Poems That Finally Made It, a collection of poems with commentary. All of the poems in the book were eventually published, but were initially rejected--three, four, even five times. "It's the old theme of ...If at first you don't succeed," says Patricia. "I am a determined (stubborn!) person."

         



Post New Comment:
Anastasia:
This reminds me of Maddy Prior's song "Bloomers", which personifies flowers, a nice accompaniment to this florification of a person!
Posted 08/07/2021 05:37 PM
Adriana:
Love the charming and amusing last verse
Posted 05/22/2021 01:55 PM
TheSilverOne:
Love this! Good job, Pat. ~ Doris Bezio
Posted 05/21/2021 10:09 PM
paradea:
Brilliant!! I love this poem!!
Posted 05/21/2021 09:03 AM


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