For Love (double etheree)

[Philatone]

hey, having encountered this form before so it drew me from the beginning

Lawns
Flowers
Filled hours ...really liked these opening three lines
with snatched moments.
Beneath spreading oaks
an old cob-webbed shed rests
its head on a listing fence, ...great personification and image
home to bent forks and rusting spades,
musty sacks, smashed flower pots and string.
Longing for bright sun and sweet smell of spring
Old Joe sits clutching his mug of hot tea
with knotted hands, twisted like briars, ...kind of the opposite of the shed and fence, really nice parallel and placement for it
evidence of long hours spent
tending shrubberies and paths
ancient hedges and lawns.
Back-breaking labour.
For his master
and mistress
he’d die.
Why?

ps - I pronounce 'flowers etc. with two syllables'

I found this poem deceptive. When I thought I had understood it, it revealed new nuances, which I'm sure is a sign of a quality read, or at least meaning that the poem struck me. At first, I wanted to see more hints of this "Old Joe's" touches in the world presented in the first half. Now... I may need more time.

I like the disconnect between the speaker and Joe. It would seem the speaker truly enjoys the scene, until those closing five lines. What a great close you've woven there... at this moment, that is really all I can say right now