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Texas bluebonnets, known scientifically as Lupinus texensis, are the state flower of Texas and are popular for their vibrant blue color. They thrive in well-drained soils and are commonly seen blooming along highways and in fields during late spring and early summer. (Source: Wikipedia.com)

Poem written for “This or That, Vol. 37,” poetry contest, Edward Ibeh, sponsor, February 23, 2026.

LUPINE

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I am a thousand violet tongues  
licking the wind, silently bending  
beneath the blistering Texas sun.  

I unfurl where the highway
forgets its name,  
where the sky 
presses down like a warm hand.  

I am not regal;
I am not obedient~
I am a wildflower,
a spill of indigo  
against the thirsty Texas earth.  

I do not beg. I do not bow.
Only nod~  
a friendly howdy  
when the pickup trucks rumble past,  
kicking up the Texas dust  
that settles like old prayers.  

The cattle low at my presence,  
their hooves careful, almost reverent.  
Wind bends me; I bow back.  
Rain comes; I drink deep.  
At dusk, my petals close like fists~  
small, stubborn prayers.  
Each spring, I return.  
I open~
a rebellion of color.
 
I am not delicate.  I am patient
I am waiting  
for you to pull over,  
to kneel in the dirt next to me
and take a picture with me~
a Texas tradition.   

I am the lupine that remembers  
the Comanche horses,  
the oil rigs,
rodeos, and 
the subdivisions  
creeping like frost. 

When they pave this field,  
I will rise through the cracks, for  
I am as defiant as Texas.
I am the Texas’ state flower.
I am the bluebonnet.

12th gradeflowernaturepersonification

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