Sunday 29 June 2014

A Game Of Patience



A Game Of Patience, 1937, Meredith Frampton


Alone again.
Would not one of them ever stay?
Sooner or later, there would be a parting of the ways,
and all her hopes come to nothing.
It had been civilised, this parting,
but so had all the others.

The men she chose 
- hand-picked each one - 
could be trusted to behave well.
For a while they seemed to fall in with her wishes.
She, tempting them with promises of fair reward,
free rein and generous refreshments.
They, nodding fulsomely, and keen to demonstrate
their prowess, bared strong arms
and grabbed their tools.

But when she mentioned digging in her beds,
pruning abundant growth and taming hedges,
they blanched, they gasped,
too soon their strength deflated
and they professed themselves
unequal to the task.

Bring out the pack,
lay out the cards.
Perhaps this time she’d solve the riddle?
What have we here?
Thoughtful she stared into the future.
At last.
A gardener for Lady C!



A rather free interpretation and off-the-cuff quickie for
today’s Magpie Tales.
For more ideas click on the link.



38 comments:

  1. ha. well you know, it is better to know
    they wont get their hands dirty before...you know...
    ha. perhaps an ad in the paper for a cute gardener lol

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  2. I love this Friko, a really original take on the image, well done! :-)

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  3. It is a game of patience finding the right helper and you are in that transition period. Makes sure if you get two that you tell them you are going to compare which is best.

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  4. My comment disappeared. Oh, well. I hope she finds one sooner or later, Friko. :-)

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  5. Ah ... and she is also a master of sexual innuendo ...

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  6. You have made this your own, rather in the form of almost a Rorschach test!


    ALOHA from Honolulu
    ComfortSpiral
    =^..^= <3

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  7. Very clever, Friko. Are they really both gone? I'm out of touch, will have to read back through your recent history.

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  8. Could she find a cute gardener for me too? haha I love your take on the prompt!

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  9. Hello,

    A good gardener........rarer than the Scarlet Pimpernel and just as difficult to find!

    An imaginative interpretation of this image which captures the wistfulness of the woman and the thoughts which may be in her head.

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  10. I haven't played a game of patience in years. I still have my favourite pack of very worn cards.
    I hope you find a gardener soon that can take care of the whole garden.

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  11. You have put out the word, or do you advertise - lovely read Friko - If any gardeners read this post, they will be at your back door tomorrow.

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  12. How annoyingly ironic - after the challenge of keeping both without the other one knowing, and now both gone!
    Trials and tribulation certainly bring out the poet in you.

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  13. Great take on the image Friko! I hope she finds everything she's looking for...

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  14. Methinks that this interpretation does the prompt justice! Cleverly crafted!

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  15. That had my entire focus & admiration. Even though the painter had me think(briefly)of Peter Frampton.

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  16. For a quicky, I think it's outstanding! Thanks for your interpretation...

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  17. The image is terrific but your interpretation all the more so! I loved every word!

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  18. But we are ever alone, a lesson we should learn at birth. Besides, it takes practice to finally pick the right person to play with.

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  19. Life's a gamble anyway - but cards to poker players are something else?! :-)

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  20. No point in asking her for a dance then!! She sounds a very hard nut to crack!
    Love the way you build this up throughot and great ending I think ~ Eddie

    please click on this link
    Clouds and Silvery Linings

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  21. Ah yes, every good woman needs a gardener to tend her beds.

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  22. Hmmmm - I recommend a wavy blond haired, blue eyed gardener for Lady C (he could see to my bush any day!) Again, a very enjoyable read, Friko!

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  23. Friko, your words drew me down the garden path, as the suspense grew. I do applaud your way of tossing those current questions into the air like so many cards, wondering when luck will deliver a new, willing, competent and even sympathetic and talented gardener.

    Soon-ish I do hope. Meanwhile, do remember to rest your own talented self. Do not attempt to impersonate this yet-to-arrive gardener yourself.

    xo

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  24. You are genius. I do hope you find a gardener. One that is up to the task.

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  25. Ha ha and well done on the witty quickie.

    Eventually her gardener did the job.

    XO
    WWW

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  26. Och, and now I fear my comment has been eaten!

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  27. It WAS eaten--and here I'd complimented you on doing justice to the image, tying into your own state of affairs, reminding me of the game Patience, AND using "fulsomely."

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  28. ... reminds me of my mumme, she reads cards for people ...

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  29. Clever, creative and oh so amusing. You've made this your very own.

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  30. A gardener! A gardener!
    Her kingdom for a gardener! ;)

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  31. haha

    I loved this on every level.

    =)

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  32. Hi Friko - love the image you've used for this ... for some reason took me back to being ill, isolated and in bed with a virus - eventually I got sent home! But in the meantime played masses of clock patience .. but I wasn't needing a garden back in those childhood days ..

    Fun post .. cheers Hilary

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