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A Field of Daisies

by Della Gardella

76 pages; quality trade paperback (softcover); catalogue #03-2013; ISBN 1-4120-1636-3; US$12.50, C$14.32, EUR10.50, £7.50

A selection of story poems, poetic portraits, and thoughts from the mind and heart.

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about the book      about the author      sample      catalogue info

About the Book These 46 poems are among the best of a collection of verse written during the early 1960's. They have been closed up in a dark file cabinet for forty years and carried about from place to place to place. Recently brought out again into the light of day, they have convinced me that they deserve a better fate. They still have the power to move me to tears and to smiles, and to lift my spirit. They are surely worthy to be shared.

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About the Author Della Gardella is a senior citizen, who is widowed and currently living with her young granddaughter a few miles outside of Albuquerque. She is a housewife and has lived in New Mexico for most of her life. She is the author of A String of Pearls, a book of prose poetry published by Trafford.

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Sample

Little one, so close to me, What a wealth there is to see In the universe that lies Opened up before our eyes! How our hearts with wonder swell! What glorious tales there are to tell Of love and hatred, death and birth, That run their course upon the earth! Fear and courage. Hope and might. Living pearls of God we sight. What fragmentary bits of the long And awe-inspiring human song Reach us as we sit and look-- Spread before us like a book!

A Field of Daisies Always will I think of daisies With a special feeling of Pure delight and happiness And a memory of love. Once I knew two lovely sisters One was four, the other five. They would now be full-grown women Had they not untimely died. They were playing in a meadow, Picking daisies in the grass, When the elder saw a yellow Butterfly go swooping past. "Look!" cried she with rounded child's eyes. "There's the queen of fairyland!" If I run as fast as light does, I can catch her in my hand." So she darted off to follow After the imagined queen, But her footsteps led her to the Border of a deep ravine, And she fell and lost her body On the jagged rocks below. But her trusting little sister Didn't see and didn't know. She continued sorting flowers, Humming to herself a song, Hoping Jill would hurry back And bring the fairy queen along. But the time grew long--and longer, And the waiting soon seemed dull. So she went to find her sister, And her busy mind was full Of the games they'd play together With the lovely fairy queen, Dressed in downy, yellow velvet-- Sweetest gown she'd ever seen. Soon she saw her sister sitting Oddly quiet on the grass. And there shone a rainbow round her like a bubble in a glass. "Jill," she cried, "you didn't catch her!" But her disappointment died When she heard her sister groaning As she clutched in pain her side. "No," Jill answered, "for I stumbled, And I fell upon a rock." For she knew not her condition. She was dazed a bit with shock. "That's too bad," June said consoling Jill the very best she could, For she was a child of tender Feeling and she understood That's Jill's accident was painful. So she stood in tearful-eyed Sympathy and gave her sister Time to let the pain subside. Finally Jill stood up and motioned. "We must hurry home," she said. "It is growing dark already. Mother might believe we're dead!" So they hurried home together As they always had before, And they soon saw mother waiting Anxiously beside the door. "June, you naughty girl," she chided-- She was too relieved to scold. "It is time for bed already And your supper has grown cold." Suddenly her glance turned sharper. "Where is Jill?" she asked the child. She felt a chill of premonition And her fearful heart grew wild. "Why, she is right here beside me. See her pretty rainbow dress?" June gazed fondly at her sister With a look of tenderness. "Jill fell down and hurt her elbow When she chased the fairy queen. So we couldn't catch her, Mother." And she held a flower between Her two small hands. While she and Jill Exchanged a smile, she held it high. "But see we brought you this to smell." Her mother gave an anguished cry. "This is no time for games," she said. "Where is your sister?!" Then she ran Like one possessed and summoned help-- Her husband and the hired man. All night long they searched the fields. When morning came a neighbor found The crumpled figure, cold in death-- Her daughter's body on the ground. Time went on and summer passed. The winds of autumn blew. All the leaves began to fall. The birds all southward flew. June was sitting by the window With her head against the glass, Bored and dull without a playmate, Watching shadows on the grass, When a dear, familiar figure Showed itself upon the lawn, Smiled at her and waved a greeting. Jill was here and sadness gone! She drew near and with a gay laugh Floated through the window pane And sat down beside her sister, Who delightedly exclaimed, "Oh, how good it is to see you! I have missed you every day, For you come these days so seldom. Why are you so much away?" "June, you know I live with God now, And I'm very happy here. But sometimes I'll come to visit you Because you're such a dear. And though I've other children, too, To play with when I choose, The special fun I have with you I never want to lose." But June was feeling petulant For she was sick that day. She had to stay indoors and rest And could not romp and play. "I wish you'd come more often, Jill, For it is lonely here, And Mother is so sad these days. I feel better when you're near." And so the children chatted And played games of make-believe All afternoon 'till Jill declared It was time for her to leave. And Mother, also, felt content In her busy tasks at home To see her daughter play so well And cheerfully alone. And little June in her childish way Was much too kind and wise To mention aloud her sister's name And bring tears to Mother's eyes. Autumn passed into winter, And the days grew cold and short. Children with shouts and laughter Enjoyed the winter sport. But the days for June were longer And duller than ever now, For her illness had never left her But grown worse instead somehow. So she sat by the window and waited, Hoping that Jill would come, For the days they could spend together Were precious, every one. Mother's face had grown anxious And lined with deep concern, As she watched the small form waste away And the eyes with fever burn. Then one day in the morning The child was to weak to stir, And a hush like the presence of death itself Lay hovering over her. Her parents stood by in silent pain And the doctor shook his head, Soft! Jill appeared in the shadows And approached her sister's bed. "Dearest one," she whispered, "You'll be feeling better soon." And June, looking up from her pillow, Saw a glow that filled the room. And the walls slipped into the shadows, While she gazed with rounded eyes At a vast, bright field of daisies And her sister at her side. With a quick, little smile of pleasure, She took Jill's outstretched hand, And into the field of daisies The joyful children ran, While soft, like a dying echo Behind them, faint and brief, Lingered a moan of sorrow And a racking sob of grief.

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Catalogue Information

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