I’m planting daffodils today
though autumn leaves are on the ground;
while nights grow colder on the lea,
the squirrel’s cache is all but found.
With winter’s cold, impending birth
I’m planting daffodils today
so they can sleep in mother earth
and wait for spring’s first warming ray.
The cornstalks stand beside the sleigh,
with gourds and pumpkins stacked nearby;
I’m planting daffodils today
beneath this gray and dismal sky.
Rich bounty from the earth has blessed
us, now let winter have her way.
But first, before this welcome rest
I’m planting daffodils today.
© 2013 R. Mark Vincent
Review
Let me preface this by saying I truly like this poem. It reads well, and the underlying metaphor is readily accessible.
Refrain-type poetry is very difficult to do well. It is easy enough to choose a phrase and build around it, but to have that repeated phrase blend seamlessly within each stanza, and have the whole tell an extended tale, rather than the same one different ways, is much more challenging. Your poem does both very well. Your refrain line is excellent, and clearly has the potential to mean far more than merely planting bulbs, while the flow to the refrain in each stanza is handled nicely.
William Keller