I have never been good at this, this writing

 

I have never been good at this, this writing

of my emotions, especially when writing of love—

it is such a personal thing to express; rooted

in the heart where words always fall short...

 

I might say that it feels like the sun 

on my skin, that I drink in the warmth of 

your smile— like a hummingbird drinks

from the delphinium, wings beating so fast

 

you can hardly perceive them, that’s how

my heart beats for you (surely you must

feel it too?)  And the way that your face lights up

when you’re laughing, which happens

 

more often than not. and how, without words

you can tell what I’m thinking, as you

answer me back with a nod and a wink

(your response has alluded a clue)

 

and so, I’m enamored with you. the larkspur’s in

bloom, taken root where it’s planted, and so then

the garden begins. and as the years pass which one

shall outlast; our love–––or the delphinium?

 

© ginny brannan 2023

 

Image Credit: Black Chinned Hummingbird with Foxglove & Delphinium by Susan Bourdet

Today's prompt calls for us to read a love poem by e.e. cummings, then write a love poem in similar style  that contains at least one flower, one parenthetical statement, and line breaks in unusual places.

Facts to note:  a hummingbird can flap it's wings up to 70 times per second. Delphinium and Larkspur are two names for the same plant. It is perennial that reseeds itself.