Deer-tongue
The smell of deer-tongue came to me today
From decades past. I mean the fragrance of
The dried out leaves, as dried out as the splay
Of decades since my father taught us love,
His sons, beneath the Florida sun, leaves
That called up beauty like vanilla to
His nose and ours. This souvenir retrieves
The afternoons we spent together, blue
Sky, mountains’ peaks (those perfect clouds piled white
Above), the heat and smell of burning pine
Brown needles for the hives in bee yards, spite
Of bee stings. Memories harsh and lovely shine
Across the years. Yet most of all we dwell
On him because of deer-tongue’s faded, gentle smell.
Hey Phillip,
Sweet childhood memories. Thank you for sharing them.
Is that you in your daddy’s lap? I do not recognize your brother’s either.
My old eyes grow dim and my memory short…..
Wishing you a great day!
Thanks for your comments, Becky. Yes, I’m on his lap. The brothers from left to right are Woody, Ivan, and Donald. I don’t think you should be expected to recognize them at such a young age.
Love it! Glad you included the photos.
I deeply suspect that a lot of people prefer the pics to the poems.
I did enjoy this piece of poetry, as well as the photos. This poem brings to memory a smell associated with my father. He used to pick me bouquets of rabbit tobacco, which had a sweet, soft, summery smell. It grew around Asheville.
I’m very happy it brought back a sweet memory of your father.
Uncle Woody, Such fond Memories, inspiring love of the world and all about him.
I have no handle on how much of an acquaintance you had with him, but clearly you recognize the description of his character and influence portrayed in the sonnet. There are several poems about him in the Encyclopedia Sonnetica.