Tulips
By A.E. Stallings
The tulips make me want to paint,
Something about the way they drop
Their petals on the tabletop
And do not wilt so much as faint,
~
Something about their burnt-out hearts,
Something about their pallid stems
Wearing decay like diadems,
Parading finishes like starts,
~
Something about the way they twist
As if to catch the last applause,
And drink the moment through long straws,
And how, tomorrow, they’ll be missed.
~
The way they’re somehow getting clearer,
The tulips make me want to see—
The tulips make the other me
(The backwards one who’s in the mirror,
~
The one who can’t tell left from right),
Glance now over the wrong shoulder
To watch them get a little older
And give themselves up to the light.
~
On this past Sunday after Dear picked me up from the airport we headed straight to the Skagit Valley for lunch and a quick trip to some tulip fields. We are really blessed here in Washington to enjoy amazing flower festivals including tulips, lilacs, lavender, daffodils, and of course our state flower the rhododendron. I will be sharing lots of tulip photos but decided to start with a poem and a few shots since this is poetry month, too. Blessings…
~
Here are the photos of our lunch before we headed to the fields. We ate at Nell Thorn in La Conner. A restaurant we highly recommend. Dear had a lamb burger that was amazing and I had a quiche that was more like a souffle. I also had to taste their soup of the day which was a spicy bean garnished with cilantro. Yummy!
~
The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b. 
Loved the tulips with the poem. Amazing to see whole fields of flowers. And I am now hungry…anything with cilantro is wondrous. Hope you have a great day!
You just went right from one party to the next! I love those laughing fields of tulips.
Our neighbours just left to see that very field this morning….wishing I could have gone along! Your photos are so pretty! How nice for the two of you to reconnect on a date after your busy weekend. Looks like you once again found some fabulous food!
Okay…the last comment was a test…and now I can’t delete it…Funny. I guess I finally figured out how to log into your account. Good!!!
Now about your photos. I sure wish we could go see them again together. Your photos are just gorgeous.
Yippee! So glad you’ve made it back in…
I’ll go ahead and delete your test.
I just love today’s post! Thank you for sharing this with those of us on the east coast!
Such a lovely post Ellen! The tulip poem and photos are so pretty. Oh, and the lunch – boy that looks yummy!
Tulips and a lovely poem – how much better can it get! I’d love to get back to the tulip fields this year..
Oh I love this post! Beautiful tulips, and I just love the poem too.
Beautiful ….I love tulips! What a great trip you had to Fresno! Such a joy to be a part of what God is doing to make Himself known around the world! 🙂
Amazing! So they’re growing tulips in Washington, you don’t need to mail order them from Holland. What fascinating photos, yes, including the lunch!
Oh we don’t see tulip fields like this in our corner. They are simply exquisite. Your lunch looks delish!
Those pink tulips are just gorgeous, Ellen!
Oh yum..and gorgeous photos..
I love tulips. One of my sweetest memories was when I sent my two toddler granddaughters out to water my tulips. I looked out the window and one was cupping a tulip in her little hand as the other gently poured water into the tulip’s petal opening.
That first shot blew me away. Tulips as far as the eye can see — and beyond!
One day I’d love to see a field of tulips! And then top it off with that delicious looking lunch you posted!