Les Deux Magots ‘Lessons from a rose bush’

Les Deux Magots poets gathered at Hill Family Tasting Room on Wednesday, Sept. 10, to offer their verses and prose. The theme of “Lessons from a rose bush” and “Learning to treasure what is here right before us” nudged poets to compose and share. Quotes about lessons emphasize that learning comes from doing and experiencing, often at times of failure or hardship, and that a lifelong commitment to growth is essential for wisdom and understanding. 

Geoff Leigh and Marianne Lyon wrote:

I walked into a Van Gough painting
My perception abruptly wavers
Rose buds like small thumbs
Nearly lost in botanical garden
Balance on tender stems
Patiently alive, abiding the moment
Waiting for the right time to burst
Share the inner self with the world

John Petraglia shared some memories of taking a simple walk around his neighborhood and Patricia Reis reflected on her rose bush while Cathy Carsell meditatively looked outside her window. Brandon Tagle reflected on sunlight. Spencer Johnson penned a scene of summer.

Today as on most days
On my late morning walk
I take inventory
Of the many small wonders – John Petraglia

Rose’s colors flutter my heart
The sun magnifies her hues
Creating a dark blood red
With intensity bleeding into my soul – Patricia Reis

Blood orange blossoms bursting forth
Scents beyond believing – Cathy Carsell

The Sun has come out
And it burns and is bright
Lighting away but beating with energy – Brandon Tagle

Now it is summer
Now the world is alive
The birds and bees are hard at work
At what they do – Spencer Johnson

Famous people have written about lessons that are right here in front of us. Helen Keller wrote: “Life is a succession of lessons which must be lived to be understood.”

Michael Waterson composed a poem to the famous Duchamps:

You crazy mutt, Look what you started

Robin Gabbert wrote of the world:

It is tired of being host
To parasitic human who take
But give little in return

Kathryn Goldman shared that:

While time has vanished
My childhood demons
Understanding of the current chaos
Leaves me vulnerable

I leave you with an amazing life lesson from Mary Kate Fitzpatrick:

Paradox abounds, my heart bursting and breaking.
Two worlds colliding inside one trembling breath.
Loving what is easy and learning to love what is hard.

Dear reader, please send me your ideas about our theme to [email protected].

“Roses do not bloom hurriedly; for beauty, like any masterpiece, takes time to blossom,” and the paradoxical wisdom of Alphonse Karr, “Some people grumble that roses have thorns; I am grateful that thorns have roses.”

Send your thoughts to Marianne Lyon at [email protected]

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