One of my students brought a small photo album to school and shared with me this photo of her as a baby, probably between 18 months and 2 years old. She was a flower girl in a wedding. There are so many things to love about this photo. The facial expression, her rosy baby cheeks, and the celebration of love. So I took a photo of the photo, which doesn’t make for great quality, but you get the idea. May Day is a time for celebrating the warmth of spring and the blooming of flowers. (I do not have permission for the use of the photo.)
To honor the Asian tradition, I wrote a Luc Bat. The syllable count is 6, 8 (luc bat translates to six, eight) and in the 8 syllable line, the 6th syllable rhymes. There is no limit to the number of lines, but it typically ends on the 8 syllable line.
Our song begins with praise
Margaret Simon, draft
fills temple as we raise our one
voice. Flower-scented hands
held together by bands of love.
Please respond to this photo with a small poem in the comments. Encourage other writers with your comments.
Reflections on the Teche 
Ah, so lovely. Having not recovered (happily) from a recent long visit and days-long play adventure with my 13 month-old granddaughter, I share this short poem included in her first-year-of-life-poems written by Grandma:
CHERRY BLOSSOM BABY
Baby is born
Buds stretch
Baby reaches
Blossoms grow
Baby smiles
Blooms giggle pink.
Love “blooms giggle pink”
Thank you, Rose!
Oh your title, Carol. I can just see that and understand. And the baby smiling and the blossoms giggling. How delightful a poem for your granddaughter!.
Thank you!
How special that you are writing poems for your new grandchild. I love the giggle pink. My youngest granddaughter has this pink glow in her cheeks. She’s 16 months.
Oh, that pink (natural) glow….! So perfect and fresh….What a wonderful thing to be able to be part of their lives!
Carol, what a sweet poem for your beloved granddaughter. I love all your repetition, alliteration, consonance, and “Blooms giggle pink.”
Thank you! Sometimes those devices just seem to happen in the brain unintentionally—but/and I’m always grateful!
Thank you!
Such a precious photo, Margaret, and your Luc Bat is so fitting.
a portrait of love
in pink and white
what more can I say?
She is so precious. The depth of her eyes just grabbed me. Of course if you knew me well, you would know I see my granddaughter (first grandchild and only granddaughter) in this photo. She, too, was a flower girl when she was just 6. I was lucky to go to the wedding as a helper.
And your poem, what more can I say? It is like words fail us with this beauty and potential in a young child. I love your small poem, Rose.
Yes, that says it all, Rose!
I love the last line because it acknowledges that sometimes there really aren’t words to express the emotion of love.
Rose, I love your poem. I especially love your last line “what more can I say?”
Tiny Flower Girl
Precious child ponders
a pretty dress,
tiny rose bouquet,
this solemn moment.
A sweet flower girl
she soaks in the celebration
of marriage, love, new life.
Her eyes, deep pools, are
watching butterflies, hearing
church bells and learning
about a new kind of joy.
I have such difficulties with spacing these days. No idea why.
Line one is the title.
I had the same problem, but I’m happy my poem made the post instead of disappearing.
I love the “new kind of joy”, Janet—such a part of little young lives.
“her eyes, deep pools, watching butterflies” – so lovely!
Janet, your poem is beautiful; I love it. I can see your adorable granddaughter in the poem in my mind. I especially love this sequence of lines: A sweet flower girl / soaks in the celebration / marriage, love, new life.” I like how you added the sense of hearing with the church bells. I also love “Her eyes, deep pools, are watching butterflies.”
For Margaret. Just simply wow and beautiful and I am not really too familiar with Luc Bat. I did not read yours (never do) before I wrote and it is quite something how that glorious child and her photo speak to us. Preciousness to the nth and I hope you give that poem to her and her parents. What a treasure it should be.
Margaret, what a precious and adorable young photo of your student. Her look and expression while holding the flowers is priceless. I love your Luc Bat poem. I love your rhyming words, hearing all the /s/ consonance, and these lines: ”Flower scented hands / held together by bands of love.” Thank you for the definition; it has an interesting rhyme scheme. I like that there aren’t a set number of lines so it can be short or longer. I will give it a whirl, but I know it’s not as easy as you make it seem.
When our first daughter was three years old, she was the youngest flower girl in her uncle’s wedding. Luckily, her dad, my husband and her other uncle were also in the wedding party. I need some more work on my poem, but here’s what I have:
FLOWER GIRL
gowned in beaded satin
smiling three-year-old
holding her older cousin’s
hand, walks down the aisle,
wide, blue eyes looking around
for her mother and younger sister
waves to them, proud mother
waves back smiling at her
curly haired, rosy cheeked, first
born floating like a princess
Gail Aldous draft
Aw! This is such a special snapshot of that moment of joy. I’m sorry WordPress is giving you trouble with formatting. We are not looking for perfect poems here. I consider this a space for drafting.
Oops, the above poem of mine, (Gail A) isn’t spaced correctly. I pasted it correctly, but it changed. But hey, I’m glad my poem didn’t go out in cyber space like the past two Wednesday’s poems did. Anyway, there are 3 lines in the 1st three stanzas. The last line “born floating like a princess” is the 4th stanza on its own. Thank you for Wednesday’s prompts and inspiration.