February 2018
Kenneth Pobo
kgpobo@widener.edu
kgpobo@widener.edu
I’ve been gardening for over twenty years. The garden remains a central joy for me and a place I go when I need inspiration—not just in poetry but in life in general. My husband introduced me to Naughty Marietta Marigolds and it was love at first grow. The surprise for me was that a poem about Naughties took shape as a villanelle. I wanted the poem to sound natural but to have a strong structure and sound. A villanelle provided that.
SECRET
Naughty Marietta marigolds
open early this year, in mid-May—
robust in bloom, they know what fall holds
when trees shoo off brown leaves. Summer folds
her tent, looks nervous, and runs away.
Naughty Marietta marigolds
crank out more buds. A peeved bluejay scolds
a robin too near her nest. Each day,
robust in bloom, they know what fall holds—
a secret, death, that slowly unfolds.
August stumbles, wither on the way.
Naughty Marietta marigolds
don’t flinch or worry, keep their households
tidy, pleased by raindrop or sunray—
robust in bloom, they know what fall holds
when cold nights will put them in blindfolds,
lead them to a hard frost, sky gone gray.
Naughty Marietta marigolds,
robust in bloom, they know what fall holds.
SECRET
Naughty Marietta marigolds
open early this year, in mid-May—
robust in bloom, they know what fall holds
when trees shoo off brown leaves. Summer folds
her tent, looks nervous, and runs away.
Naughty Marietta marigolds
crank out more buds. A peeved bluejay scolds
a robin too near her nest. Each day,
robust in bloom, they know what fall holds—
a secret, death, that slowly unfolds.
August stumbles, wither on the way.
Naughty Marietta marigolds
don’t flinch or worry, keep their households
tidy, pleased by raindrop or sunray—
robust in bloom, they know what fall holds
when cold nights will put them in blindfolds,
lead them to a hard frost, sky gone gray.
Naughty Marietta marigolds,
robust in bloom, they know what fall holds.
© 2018 Kenneth Pobo
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