Category: Poetry

Syringa

Published on by Laura Bloomsbury31 Comments 
In myth she was a wood nymph
quarry for a little, lustful god 
and maidenly must hide her form
in foliage. Not found but plucked 
just the same; just a gamine girl
all hollowed out for Pan
to play upon.

And still Syringa sings, midway in Spring,
Close clustered sprigs of white
or purples prim, to tantalize my eyes.
A singling out by scent, so sweet,
so strong. And when lilacs last
in the dooryard bloomed*
I cried again for an old love
and donned these widow weeds
of muted mauve, long after mourning.
  • From Greek mythology the pursuit of Syringa by Pan- the classification of lilac as syringa is derived from the Greek “syrinks” which means pipe.
  • To Victorians, lilac was a reminder of a past love so that widows wore this colour palette after full mourning black

*Taking Sanaa’s mini prompt line from Walt Whitman’s poem ‘when lilacs last in the dooryard bloomed’ for Open Link Night @dVerse where anything goes