Set Aside

Summer of letters.
Days of thinking slowly,
rolling words around
until they landed just right.
Days of ink to vellum,
sometimes blurred by tears.
Hidden away for so many years.
Flowers beneath ribbon ties,
now brittle and dry.
Love never consummated,
memories still blush.

Written for dVerse, the virtual pub for poets around the globe. It’s Quadrille Monday and De asks us to include the word “flower” or a form of the word, within the body of our poem of just 44 words, sans title. Image created on Bing Create.

10 thoughts on “Set Aside

  1. lisaapaul's avatar lisaapaul February 9, 2026 / 2:55 pm

    This is so lovely and poignant ❤️

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  2. kim881's avatar kim881 February 9, 2026 / 3:04 pm

    A poignant quadrille Lill, and I love the thought of all those things ‘set aside’. I used to save letters, but they went missing in several moves, but I do still have some greetings cards.

    Liked by 1 person

    • lillian's avatar lillian February 9, 2026 / 3:22 pm

      For many years I kept flowers I hung upside down to dry…and then had them on a shelf with photos…ones from various special occasions. They finally turned practically to dust so now more. Do have some old letters and cards from George in our dating days 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  3. De Jackson's avatar De Jackson February 9, 2026 / 3:33 pm

    The is beautiful, Lill. I love “days of thinking slowly.” I sure could use a couple of those, these days.

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  4. Gillena Cox's avatar Gillena Cox February 9, 2026 / 3:39 pm

    Luv this sentimental mood

    much love

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  5. Lisa or Li's avatar Lisa or Li February 9, 2026 / 3:39 pm

    Pretty Q, Lillian. I have some of those kind of letters also. I loved the days of handwritten snail mail.

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  6. Ain - UA's avatar Ain - UA February 9, 2026 / 3:55 pm

    Lovely mood created by past magic…with tight rhyme and a ‘natural’ rhythm ✔️

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  7. Ron.'s avatar Ron. February 9, 2026 / 4:52 pm

    Nice work, L. I esp dug the slow thinking and the tear-blurred inkwords. Salute.

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