Yearning for Spring and Other Things

I watch you from afar,
drowning my desire
in the secret places
of my garden.
If I could choose to be a single
bloom in yours,
I’d choose not the heady
rose,
nor the proud, resplendent
lily. No,
I would choose to
be the shyly budding
tulip,
for she does not compete
with any other
for the full weight
of the sun’s hopeless infatuation
with her.

0A0D88AB-6405-4807-80EC-DC6D27625ED1

Author: ebonyandcrows

Hello and welcome to my page~ My name is Larisa--a very common Slavic name that was either derived from the Latin word hilaris, meaning "cheerful," or from the Greek city of Larissa, meaning "strong fortress." Born in Ukraine, I emigrated with my family to America when I was still a small child and now make my home in the beautiful Pacific Northwest. Growing up immersed in two vastly differing cultures led me to have a burning curiosity about people all over the world. Stemming from said curiosity, I have fallen in love with traveling to other countries, meeting new people and delving into their culture, exploring new cities, and of course, dining on the local cuisine! If I cannot escape into a different country, then my next favorite method of adventure is to lose myself in a spectacular book. I enjoy books of all genres--from fiction and novels, to biographies and ethnographies. As long as it captures my fancy and holds me spellbound the entire time, I will burn through the book like a forest fire! Because of this penchant for reading and travel, coupled with my love of deep and mysterious things, I have been often called a dreamer and I find the title suits me. With that being said, I invite you to stay a while, perhaps make yourself a cup of tea and linger through my posts and feel free to comment or share a thought :-)

74 thoughts on “Yearning for Spring and Other Things”

    1. Melted in a puddle over here 😩 thank you for such unexpected and lavish praise! I am happy to see you on here, I was actually thinking about you and the fact that I haven’t seen anything of yours while scrolling thru my reader. (I’ve been remiss with my presence on here too though.)

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  5. Larisa, what a beautiful poem, and you the most beautiful bloom, inside and out… how the sun would seek you out deliberately for its affections. And be lucky to find you when it did. It’s a treat to read your poetry again. 🌷

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    1. Ah, my gorgeous Rachel, you know I bow before you. Thank you for always being so amazing and supportive, even when I feel inadequate sometimes. I am wrapping your comment around me like my own sparkling ray of sunshine on this rainy February night.

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      1. Ok, I think I’ll have to quote your own words back to you

        “she does not compete
with any other
for the full weight
of the sun’s hopeless infatuation
with her.”

        ‘She’ would never need to. Seriously, you are this tulip, you need not ever feel inadequate or compete – your poetry is stunning, and I absolutely fell in love with this piece and it’s dewy sensuality.

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        1. Full disclosure: I did a little happy dance laying in bed reading your comment 😍 My heart is full..sending hugs and more hugs over the oceans to wrap you up tight over there in beautiful New Zealand. ♥️💞🧡💗

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          1. Larisa… full disclosure. I marvel constantly at your incredible combination of breathtaking talent, breathtaking beauty, and breathtaking kindness. And, what’s more, those hugs you sent across the ocean got here immediately and in full force. I did my own little happy dance when I received them ♥️💞♥️

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  7. “I’d choose not the heady
rose,
nor the proud, resplendent
lily. No.”

    Larisa this so, so dreamy. It has an organic sensuality (like those siren eyes of yours!) and it reads almost musically. Even the title is melodic!

    I found myself ambling through that moody garden in my own mind, errantly touching the scattered blooms, here and there. The scenery soft but distinct. You would definitely catch the meandering eye as a bud. Unforgettable to those wandering within the gates. In short: I utterly loved this poem. 🌷🌿🦋

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    1. 😍😍😍Thank you April! This poem actually made me think of you. I thought of how April is the most dangerous month, and in that moment I couldn’t agree more. Thank you so much for this gorgeous comment!

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      1. That’s so sweet and I’m touched Larisa. Yes!!! “April is the cruellest month, breeding lilacs out of the dead land, mixing memory and desire, stirring dull roots with spring rain.” Love me some T.S. Eliot.. love me all forms of flower/garden/nature metahpor, and love me some you. ❤

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  8. The siren from the northwest returns with such power and elegance in her words❤️ I love the analogy of the tulip forgoing audacity for simplicity in the garden of choice. A beautiful tulip photo adorns the poem, too.

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    1. I love your recap of this poem, Rob 😍 It’s true, I often prefer the understated, subtle things over the loud, pompous glory of..well, whatever is being loud and pompous. (I love roses and lilies too though ☺️) Thank you for your unwavering support of all of my writings, I appreciate you ♥️

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    1. Ooh I love questions like these 😍 Hmm, this is a difficult one because I’ve read a lot of books in the past 12 months. Okay, I just went and looked at my kindle and if we are going with strictly the last 12 months, I’m going to go with the young adult fantasy, “The Story Peddler.” For nonfiction I’m going to go with my hard copy of “The Real Kosher Jesus,” although I haven’t finished that one yet. I’ve been in a book slump for quite a while and haven’t found anything that has intensely drawn me in like, say, “The Scorpio Races,” or “An Ember in the Ashes” (even though I absolutely hated the sequel.)

      Your turn ☺️

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      1. What do you think about reading on a kindle vs a physical copy? I’ve never read on a Kindle. Hmm, you’ve given me a few titles I’m not familiar with, and that’s good for me. I’ll have to look into them, thank you. -On my side of the fence, I have two books that easily come to mind. Zinky boys was amazing. Profound and great story writing. And, secondly, ‘Pain & Renewal,” A Poetry Anthology that was just released. ( I have two poems within the anthology) I’m not picking this book as one of the best because I’m in it, in my opinion, it’s that good. It took over #1 as a new release in its category for a number of days. The writing quality and authors selected is terrific. Thanks again for the book read ideas!

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        1. How neat! I always view being published as such a lofty ideal; for the upper echelons of society and folk who are a lot more clever than I am. So that is awesome that you continue to churn out pieces that become published and immediately rise to success. My criteria when selecting a book to read pretty much comes down to me wanting to completely escape into a different world, preferably vastly different than mine, wherein it allows me to experience an adventure that I otherwise never would have. I love being able to be a story peddler in one world, and a huntress tracking game deep in the forest with my bow and arrow in the next. Browsing through a bookstore and running my finger across all the potential worlds I can go visit is my definition of one of the highest highs a person could achieve. I adore reading. Alas, I don’t visit bookstores as often anymore because of the convenience of my kindle. I mainly read books on the kindle itself or on my kindle app on my phone. It’s so easy to be able to access thousands of books with one tap of your finger (Amazon bookstore online) and then have it downloaded to your kindle within seconds. And you can read them while laying in bed in the dark too, unlike a paperback. My fiction books tend to be all kindle, but my nonfictions I actually purchase as paperbacks.

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  13. So good to read you again, I was just thinking about what I may have missed, and here you are!

    If you were but a dandelion,
    in a field full of dandelions,
    the sun would seek you out
    and leave the garden dark

    Hoping all is well,
    Tim

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          1. I agree! Unassuming, such quiet beauty and elegance. I love how sculptural they are as they droop. 🙂
            We were married in an out door chapel in the middle of the woods by a lake, and had the reception at a friend’s farm. We had very little time to prepare it because of my visa regulations, but it all came together.

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              1. Actually, it was the other way…we were married in Missouri, and started our married life in Colorado. Ten years later we moved here, to South Australia. So I was an Aussie, marrying an american, and then to live in the States at the time.

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    1. Aha this did not end up in my spam! Either way, I would have gone searching for this comment and saved it from the spam gremlins no matter what it took!

      Thank you for gracing my humble little poem with your lovely comment. And I couldn’t agree more, unrequited love is the worst! Truthfully, any kind of secretive love that cannot be realized for whatever factor is always agonizing. Sigh. Why can feelings get so messy sometimes?

      I am doing my best to stay safe and I hope that you are also safe and as well as could possibly be during this period of uncertainty. Again, thank you for stopping in.

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    1. What a lovely surprise it was to get a notification from The V Pub! I don’t even remember the last time I received one on my little bell tab ☺️ These last several months have been such a whirlwind of battling unforeseen circumstances (for everyone, I know), but it’s most disappointing when certain people that you have to deal closely with in your life take advantage of these circumstances and are revealed to be really ugly people. Anyway, not even going to go into that, but I appreciate you checking in! With all of that being said, I’ve just been really focused on improving my mental/emotional/spiritual well being and navigating around some treacherous people, but keeping my head up. It had really taken everything I’ve had, tbh. But I’m doing well, and getting even better, and hopefully soon I’ll be able to write again 💜

      How have you been, Rob?

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      1. Awful, isn’t it? I think it’s so disheartening when someone you think you know, turns out to be someone else. Sigh. Anyway, I’m doing well. My life hasn’t changed much. Crazy hours at work, and gardening/music in my free time. It’s wonderful to read your response and I look forward to reading you once again. ❤

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