Our optional prompt for the day is based on the concept of the language of flowers. Have you ever heard, for example, that yellow roses stand for friendship, white roses for innocence, and red roses for love? Well, there are as many potential meanings for flowers as there are flowers. The Victorians were particularly ga-ga for giving each other bouquets that were essentially decoder-rings of meaning. For today, I challenge you to write a poem in which one or more flowers take on specific meanings. And if you’re having trouble getting started, why not take a gander at this glossary of flower meanings? (You can find a plain-text version here). Feel free to make use of these existing meanings, or make up your own.
Messages from the ground
11 April 20 0706
1.
My mother enjoyed nothing more than a field of daisies
And my wife ensured each year we’d have some to remember
But as the years pile up
I’m discovering that the innocence
A child’s memories of their mother
Fade in the bitter coldness
Of the reality that comes with knowledge
Being chased with knives
Beatings for minor infractions
trips to the visitation room
Sneaking smoke breaks at the hospital
Dealing with her delusions
This year I hope my wife’s lack of a green thumb wins out
And they wont bloom
2.
Her love wasn’t perfect,
It was the only love she could give
Tulips were her weakness
And her the love she wanted was hopeless
I brought her the useless love I had
And then I brought it again a decade later when she was hopeless
When I think there is no more love to share, tulips appear, her smile returns and we are renewed
3.
The first spring they rose from the frost
A surprise, they broke through
Provided the color to the grey world
The yellow petals were the daily sunshine for weeks, nothing else blossomed as quickly
The daffodils only last for a month, maybe two
But they herald spring, they are the first and most regal
None compete with them, and then they fade as quickly
To return next year
To be the first and only adored.
