Image-Bed of Roses by Dale Innis
Bed of Roses
It’s sad, that I was not the one to feel the love
you promised and proclaimed.
There was too much mystery swirling around you.
and in the end there was too much pain.
On a night I had dreamed about,
since I was was only thirteen,
who really knew then, what our future held,
when you whispered, seductively, “My Queen”
I had been in love with you,
since love started to make sense to me.
I saw you everywhere and you conquered
my thoughts, my dreams and fantasies.
Everyone who saw you, only saw you as a heartache,
not as a love forever…
You were a treacherous rogue; although many had cried, to your lies,
I knew deep down inside, I could do it better
So that is why, on our wedding night,
I had prepared for us a bed of fresh cut roses.
The satin sheets, a few peaches and cream
and the rest, flowering crimson roses,
I perfumed and oiled my hair with the essence
of flowers from rivers and springs;
roses brushed our faces, and touched our thighs
while I, supine, about to bloom, tumbled over the springs.
You knew I would never join you in bed
unless we had said our vows, exchanged our rings.
You made me the happiest girl who had ever dreamed;
we were so beautiful together, a bronzed pair of figurines.
But then I realized we were not together at all,
you were a single actor on a stage where I had shone my shame.
The rose thorns pierced my flesh, my hope, my heart.
When in your heat of passion, you called out someone else’s name.
Even though on our wedding night,
I had prepared for us a bed of fresh cut roses.
The satin sheets, a few peaches and cream
and the rest, flowering crimson roses,
I perfumed and oiled my hair with the essence
of flowers from rivers and springs;
roses brushed our faces, and touched our thighs
while I, supine, about to bloom, tumbled over the springs.
Karima Hoisan
December 14, 2022
Costa Rica.
Digital Rabbit Hole 
Wooooooowwwww 😍Love this from Image to Content 💯
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Thank you so much for commenting. I am so glad you enjoyed them both:)
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You’re welcome 🤗
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Wow Karima, thank you for sharing this beautifully vulnerable piece. The imagery and the detail is just magically done. I can feel the emotion and meaning in every word, each line took me on a journey. The way you put your heart in this piece is so magnificently expressed, each time I read it together I could feel more and more and that is the gift of an amazing writer like yourself. Truly well done, dear friend 🤍🤍🤗🤗
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Thank you Grace and I love your comment. This poem was born from Dale’s image…when I saw it, I said, this is a whole story, I feel I will write the poem.
I am one who is very inspired my visual imagery combined with music..the two can put me in the zone (and I know you understand:) I guess we call this Ekphrastic poetry..but believe me, I felt I lived her whole story.So glad I was able to convey to you..the emotions that this image brought up in me. Thank you for you true appreciation and your support…always Grace 🌹
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You’re more than welcome, dear Karima. Always a gift and a pleasure to read you 🤍. Thank you for sharing the story behind this 😊, makes it even more special and yes I totally understand 😊. Those two things are often the inspiration behind my pieces. Keep on shining, dear friend 🤗🤗🤗
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Beautiful Poem.
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Thank you so much vermavky, your comment is very appreciated.
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Our expectations leading us to create an illusion and then eventually we realise that is all it is. Reality then brings with it that tinge of sadness. Love is a mysterious beast but one for which we should not search, love will find us if we are patient. So I believe 🙂
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Thank you David for sharing your thoughts on this subject. Sadly there is always a tendency to think, “This won’t happen to me” or even worse, “After we’re married we will make our problems work out” Patience, good fortune and a kind destiny can help love find us someday…InshAllah
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The vulnerability and empathy in your poem is beautiful.
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Thank you so much for commenting kindfeelings..I am happy you felt those emotions in my words..
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Lovely and poignant! (And honored again that my image inspired such verses. 😁)
As well as the deep emotions expressed in such well-chosen words, the poetic craftsmanship is great here; the repetition of the final verse, which itself has repetition instead of rhyme, mirrors the almost obsessive way we feel this kind of strong emotion. Really well done!
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Wow Dale…such a great comment!! You were reading carefully I see, not only poetically but structurally. I love you did that. This poem would not exist without your amazing “Storybook” image. I never would have invented it…on my own…Thank you for the visual push:):)
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What a poem…what a beautiful poem…what a heartfelt poem…why am I writing like this…to tell you that it’s absolutely beautifully expressed…you took me with you on your journey…the flow of emotions…the love, the rose, the fragrance, the thorns…your words are coming out of the flat page in 3D…you’re an amazing writer, dear Karima ✨❤️✨
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Thank you my friend, loved the way you said this:) So glad you vibrated to this theme, this story that was told to me, when I stared at Dale’s illustration.of deception . I am glad you were by my side in this twisting tail, this journey I blame or credit all on this muse of mine who sees something, and is compelled to write,who hears music and feels once again, compelled to write.Ohh dear Naveen, your beautiful thought walked alongside me…when the story, jumped from the page, we both watched the movie version. You’re also an amazing writer, friend and commentator…as the MasterCard ad says…”Priceless” 🌹❤️🌹
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What a beautiful and elegant work of poetry and devotion. A work of art and heart Karima !
I must admit….. it made me feel a little… thorney.
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I am thrilled you loved the poem marc…sometimes a magical image, like this one, just wants someone to tell its story. I was lucky, it chose me:) Thank you marc for this inspiring comment.
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Karima, your poetry is beautiful. Reading your thoughts is like riding along side of the ocean with the top down and me sitting next to you in the passenger seat. Thanks for the warm sun and ocean spray. Most of all, thanks for the “lift”.
marc
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Thank you marc for this beautiful 2nd comment:)
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My God! What a poem, so loving and passionate! Only you can imagine it and translate into words that get in turn translated into emotions. That’s the speciality of your poems. So lovely, Karima 😊💐💖🙏
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Awww thank you Kaushal for once again, not only seeing my process, but enjoying the emotions that come forth. This ia another case of the painting reaching out to me…asking me to tell its story and the beautiful thing about Art, everyone who sees it and listens, will hear a different one:):) That is the beauty of Art, that is the tight and harmonic relationship, between the visual and the poetic translator. Such a wonderful comment…thank you again. 🙏🌹
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So very well said, Karima! I appreciate your sense of beauty and perception. You’re more than welcome 🤗💖🙏
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🙏🌹🙏🦋❤️
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I love how you transformed the image into such a complete and utterly heartbreaking story of love and loss. The repetition at the end really worked well and those last three words are perfection.
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Thank you so much for visiting my blog and leaving such wonderful comments. This one is no exception and so glad you enjoyed the repetition of that verse…I thought it added emotion to her telling of her sad tale too. Thanks so much Bridgette for taking out the time to be so supportive.🌹
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The roses in the image told me to lie back and think of love… but the persons eyes would not meet… so I anticipated pain… then I read the poem, and realized ‘he’ was the one who grew the thorns, not the roses… and she had waited so, so many year to feel the pain… a tearful read…!
🇯🇲🏖️
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Such a beautiful interpretation and you say it perfectly…he grew the thorns..that pierced her. As soon as I saw this image, I too saw, like you, this was not a happy couple..There was a story to be told and I listened while she spoke to me first:) Thank you so much for your perceptive and interesting comments.
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