A Hundred Million Years before ⁣
There was no Love, no Name ⁣
Until a Plant released its Pollen ⁣
And the First Flower came ⁣
Love was not found. Love was invented ⁣
By something that could not speak ⁣
A wordless want between two Beings ⁣
A Wind, a Bloom, a Scene⁣
⁣
Whenever I behold her face⁣
The Bougainvillaea stirs in my mind ⁣
That season when my City blooms ⁣
In Magentas, Pinks, and its Rustling⁣
And something in my chest unfolds ⁣
The way the Bracts unfold ⁣
A Love too large for looking ⁣
Too vivid to be told ⁣
⁣
She is ⁣
like that beguiling Flower ⁣
An Illusion so exquisite ⁣
What we call her Bloom are Leaves ⁣
Protecting something akin to a soul⁣
A tiny floret, white, so small ⁣
It hides from every Eye, even mine ⁣
The real thing always is the thing ⁣
We always pass By⁣
⁣
So the next time I meet her ⁣
I will not settle for the Bloom⁣
I will wait for what is guarded ⁣
The white floret in the room⁣
For Love too is a Bract ⁣
Vivid, crinkled, bright ⁣
Protecting something small and real ⁣
From every eye and every light⁣
The soul inside us all, swaying day and night⁣

NaPoWriMo Day 19 – 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.

Painting by K Kovuluski. Style inspired by Emily Dickinson’s love for flowers.