Spencer Watson Seupel

Gauntlet of the Rose

I have only two other poems that Spencer wrote, both of them for school assignments.  I'm not sure when he wrote "Gauntlet of the Rose" but it was probably the same year he wrote the "Blackberry" poem.

Gauntlet of the Rose

Sunlit skies shown on the uneven

earth, beneath which the unknown

life would be given sustenance not in

gracious heat, but in the dreary dank

of the topsoil. From this place a curious

sprout appeared, breaking forth from the

earth cautiously, yearning for the glow it desired.

And so did this small shoot bloom and grow into a young,

budding rose. But before this rose could expose its

wondrous petals, the brown leaves laid down

beside the unfortunate flower. The

blue sky was covered, and

the glow of the sun

had faded. A spark

was ignited and

the fire burnt

all that could

have been;

remained

only the

sky of gray.

but from this

darkness came

a wonderful wet

that cleared the

ground of ash and

ember. As the droplets

seeped through the grains

of sediment, and nutrient, they

found a seed waiting to grow anew.

                                      -- Spencer Seupel