Disappointment

by Julia Carter Aldrich — a poem card from Justes Mots

This brief, poignant poem uses the metaphor of a carefully tended flower that withers before blooming to capture the heartbreak of unfulfilled hope and dreams cut short. Aldrich emphasizes the contrast between anticipation and disappointment, making it an apt meditation on loss and the fragility of beauty. Its accessible imagery and emotional resonance suit sympathy cards or reflections on dashed expectations.

We plant sometimes a tender flower—
Watch and wait through sun and shower;
Mark its tiny leaflets, green,
Then, the upward shoot between,—
Springing, springing, tendrils clinging,
Hopes like cherubs round it winging
Whispering of the blooming time.
…

Themes: sympathy · grief · encouragement · reflection