And now for today’s (optional) prompt. The word florilegium refers to a book of botanical illustrations of decorative plants and also a collection of excerpts from other writings. In her poem, “Florilegium,” Canadian poet Sylvia Legris gathers together many five-lined stanzas that describe flowers but also play with the sounds of their names, their medical (or poisonous) qualities, and historical aspects of herbalism. Today, pick a flower or two (or a whole bouquet, if you like) from this online edition of Kate Greenaway’s Language of Flowers. Now, write your own poem in which you muse on your selections’ names and meanings. If you’re so inclined, you could even do some outside research into your flowers, and incorporate facts that you learn into your work.
Red
Under a shrieking sky
today, kid you not, five blooms
of Hibiscus
the colour of the root chakra
of blood
of Goddess Kali’s tongue—
the solitary stamen aflame like the setting sun
like streetlights talking in tongues
taunting courage to show up
for the blue to enter
the eye
and carry the sky like birds do
on their wings,
how they stitch their impossible
flights
to
pinpricks of human pupils
that watch wars on screens
but keep mum
In Tibetan Buddhism,
Hibiscus stands for the importance of perception.
The colours we see can influence reality.
Children are murdered every day
under the same boiling sky
where open-mouthed hibiscus
are thirsting
here, we don’t worship Kali
even the scent of her favourite flower
is not enough to cover the stench
of silence
Arti, this is a stunning poem. The red of the hibiscus gathers so many meanings here... blood, divinity, perception, grief, courage, witness, wound, omen, invocation. And the poem carries them all with real force. The final lines are devastating and unforgettable. Powerful work.
ReplyDelete