The Seed-Shop Poem by Muriel Stuart

The Seed-Shop

Rating: 3.9


Here in a quiet and dusty room they lie,
Faded as crumbled stone or shifting sand,
Forlorn as ashes, shrivelled, scentless, dry -
Meadows and gardens running through my hand.

In this brown husk a dale of hawthorn dreams;
A cedar in this narrow cell is thrust
That will drink deeply of a century's streams;
These lilies shall make summer on my dust.

Here in their safe and simple house of death,
Sealed in their shells, a million roses leap;
Here I can blow a garden with my breath,
And in my hand a forest lies asleep.

COMMENTS OF THE POEM
Besa Dede 13 September 2012

Such a lovely poem, singing beautifully with imagery!

3 3 Reply
Carlos Echeverria 13 September 2012

Mr. Straw, resorting to insults only serves to embarrass you more than your ill-conceived concept of poetry. You're on the verge of becoming a philistine, unless...

2 3 Reply
Kevin Straw 13 September 2012

ASHES DO NOT COME ALIVE!

1 3 Reply
jim hogg 15 March 2024

The phrase was 'forlorn AS ashes' -

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Kevin Straw 13 September 2012

What an idiot you are Echeverria. ASHES DO NOT LIVE!

1 3 Reply
Sylvia Frances Chan 15 March 2024

ONE: The poetess explores the theme of potential and transformation. Through vivid imagery, she portrays seemingly lifeless seeds in a shop, which, upon closer examination, hold within them the promise of growth and beauty.

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Sylvia Frances Chan 15 March 2024

TWO: The poem serves as a meditation on time, emphasizing that even in unassuming objects, the potential for life lies dormant, waiting to burst forth.

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Sylvia Frances Chan 15 March 2024

THREE: The seeds symbolize hidden possibilities, much like the forest that "lies asleep" within them. Stuart's words remind us that beneath the dust and mundane appearances, there exists a world of vitality and renewal, waiting to bloom when given the chance.

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jim hogg 15 March 2024

Gray's Elegy came to mind as I was reading this, and not just because of 'narrow cell'....

0 0 Reply
Sylvia Frances Chan 28 December 2023

A metaphorical poem, thought-provoking, but beautifully summed up. Congratulations being chosen as The Modern Poem Of The day.5 Stars.

1 0 Reply
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