April 14 (NaPoWriMo experiment)

April 14, 2015
by C
comments 14
Uncategorized

[A dialogue of self and houseplants]

I:
I gave all the orchids away
too intolerant of their constant
demands

Phalaenopsis, Cymbidium:
We were victims of your
inconsistency–

a season of doting
and then, the droughts

I:
I bought small cacti
to replace them

trading bristles and spines
for fragile delicacy

Escobaria vivipara:
And yet you’ve only
just noticed

that our flowers
are fake–

dried crimson
hot-glued in place

for shame

I:
And the lovely jade
in the antique pot

has rotted,
twice

Crassula ovata:
And yet I never died
each gummy stem

each fat-thumbed leaf
you saved and rooted

to form new plants

I:
A boundary then
between neglect

and outright death
needing a sign of distress

to break through
the too-full days

Schlumbergera:
A disappointment
at Christmas,

my namesake,
but in April now

a shocking surprise–
I defy convention

with my cascades of blooms
so it’s not only dire

things that catch
your eye–

such joy for
the unanticipated

the unanticipated
and good–

I:
I could do better
if things were better

but this is a good
reminder, if nothing else

once a year things
can go right, so very right

they command attention–

Schlumbergera:
We gave a gift–

Phalaenopsis, Cymbidium:
And you gave us as a gift

Crassula ovata:
And living is forgiving

Escobaria vivipara:
This is the lesson

Crassula ovata:
It bears repeating

14 Comments

  5. toievi's avatar
    toievi says

    Just getting to know you. How great can one put to writing how greater is that author. A Genuine Poet if not fame but so loved in the garden by the plants.

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    Reply

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