Skirmish prompt: Flower
UPDATE: I am grateful that [@katestantonsings] will be bringing music to these lyrics. Stay tuned!
https://fawm.org/songs/133610/
I have an orchid plant in my office that has been totally neglected during the pandemic. In fact during the week of Christmas it died from no water. I poured some water in Jan. Now, miraculously I have a blooming orchid. It is my inspiration!
An Orchid Waits
V1
once crowded
now sparse
once noisy
now not
once vibrant
now still
no one
around
in this
ghost town
ghost town
of our times
C
where life remains
lives have changed
an orchid waits
an orchid waits
an orchid waits
then blooms and thrives
before my eyes
as if to say
we will survive
V2
once smiles
now masks
once touches
now nods
once gathered
now gone
with no one
around
here in this
ghost town
ghost town
of our times
C
where life remains
lives have changed
an orchid waits
an orchid waits
an orchid waits
then blooms and thrives
before my eyes
as if to say
we will survive
B
the beauty of the orchid flower
is enhanced by the surprise
of its return after near demise
C
where life remains
lives have changed
an orchid waits
an orchid waits
an orchid waits
then blooms and thrives
before my eyes
as if to say
we will survive
@edward9thstreet Feb 2022
You're saying so much with such few words. "The ghost town of our times, " is especially acute. And lovely, fresh title/ hook. Very nice!
@scubed Feb 2022
What gorgeous lyrics! Can’t wait to hear what @katestantonsings does with it.
@taracraig Feb 2022
wow, I agree with @katestantonsings this is a very special lyric. You've captured the isolation and loneliness of the "at home time" and the "new normal" through the lens of the waiting orchid. But then it blooms and oh the hope that is in this blooming! Can't wait to hear what Kate does with it.
@robynmackenzie Feb 2022
My dog’s name is Orchid so I had to come check this out. This is so delicately melancholy and understates. Definitely one of my fave set of lyrics from you. I can’t wait to hear Kate’s take on it!
@katestantonsings Feb 2022
Liz, this is very special lyric. You have a gift for tapping into the sensitivity of seemingly mundane things. Have you ever read the book, 'The Orchid and the Dandelion'? Much like your lovely lyrics describe an orchid blossoming under the right environment and care, this song deserves lovely care :) I can't wait to hear it set to music.
@cindyrella Feb 2022
I love that the orchid survived and that it inspired this wonderful song! Great!
@coolparadiso Feb 2022
Yup a great message, i love the repetition of both bits. An orchid waits is a winner in itself.
@berni1954 Feb 2022
Always room in the world for another song of hope. Like a couple of other writers here at FAWM you have the gift of economical lyrics. You are able to express so much in these short staccato lines. I am, as my Grandma would have said: "A rather long-winded fellow"- her polite way of saying a "gasbag". .. Ah, Dubliners.. you can't beat them.
I will pass on this positive story about the orchid to my partner. She has had such bad luck with orchids. Some died from lack of water some from overwatering, some from not enough light, another from too much. They seem finnicky things :-). Now, the latest one had two long shoots full of flowers... until muggins here bumped into it and sent it crashing to the floor. One side survived, but the other one got "decapitated" leaving just the long stem. I hope it too pulls through.
@boxtape Feb 2022
I really love the sentiment of these lyrics, I'm a plant nerd so this is right up my street. The use of minimal words in the verses really conveys the emptiness.