Best Lantana Poems
Oh, how I swoon
in the ruby bliss of your sunset kiss -
your vibrant rays of maturity arouses my fire;
touching me with urgent rapture,
saturating me in sparkles of champagne light, then,
streaming through me in bold shafts of gold.
We embrace
in the broadening bloom of lantana skies -
our burning blend;
your western blaze my prismatic panes
telling biblical stories of love and pain,
bestowing rainbows into depths of dark -
our fervor cast like water-colored sprites
in far-flung illuminations
across dusky medieval arches
enlightening dim granite walls
gracing graceful curves and conscientious columns
in jewel-shades waltzing with your solar pulse.
Our vivacious union reflects our Gothic romance
in mirrored mirages dyeing the staid floor
with painted riches that richly rejoice
in plashes of splashy
orgies of light and glory
the appetite of holy ambiance whet
by warm and cool tones
pregnant with passions of the heart
and imbued with torments and ecstasies
of the soul -
cleaving humanity and divinity
in flaring flair; emerald, sapphire, citrine and garnet,
amid our spellbinding moments
of tantric twilight magic.
Our synergy electrifies
the night-falling quietude of this sacred space
before our enchanted euphoria
begins to wane… and as your dying flame
gives way to the rise of the shy crescent moon
I lose my orgasmic zest
to the evening’s ebon hue.
Daffodil dimples
Crape myrtle blooms form
the entrance now leading
Into the garden of
dreams that we share
Rose buds and hyacinths
tickle our senses
Blending their fragrance
so sweet with the air
Lantana flowers in
yellows of lemon
Paint summer sunrises
along the wall
Hibiscus petals are
raining so softly
Before our eyes as
their beauty does fall
Daffodil dimples now
show as they're smiling
Watching the two of us
greeting the day
Now hand in hand
as we wander this garden
So much in love
midst this wondrous display
Good morning Soupers
When blossoms fall
From the tree of life
Their ash will feed its roots
And bloom away the strife
These ambassadors of hearts and smiles
And handshakes
These caretakers of souls
Theses brothers and sisters
And mothers and fathers
And husbands and wives
And grandmothers and grandfathers
And friends of friends of friends
Who hugged life with happiness
And white orchids
Who embraced the sick without fear
Who opened homes to students
Who joined faiths
Who shared humor
Who laughed with gentle spirit
Who cooked meals for neighbors
Who knew community
These blossoms from the tree of life
Of life
Of life
Blooming again and again and again
No evil shall stop these blossoms
More life will prevail
More trees will bloom
Like vines on hills blooming in the sun
Like wild flowers in fields
And rose bushes in gardens
Sweet roses, blooming for 97 years
Nothing will stop the multiflora rose
Or honeysuckle or wisteria or lantana
They will bloom in spite of prejudice
In spite of bias
In spite of hostility
In spite of this drought of kindness
These blossoms
Of Irving
Of Melvin
Of Rose
Of Bernice and Sylvan
Of Jerry
Of Joyce
Of Richard
Of Daniel
Of Cecil and David
Will come back year after year after year
And our Trees of Lives
Will grow taller and stronger
And beneath their shade
We all will rest in peace.
"The Begin Again Beings"
A family of swords
the world under their feet
to all that is fallen in the
darkened passages beneath,
slipped on crushed pearls of tears
rivulets running down
a body of work pierced,
the milky powder swallowed
from the shells of wisdom,
much stronger than Bex,
a slither still remaining,
dulled the pain,
somewhat,
for a short while,
until it was fully consumed
and exhausted - then,
without warning,
the unstable ground
ripped, captured pages,
altered the blood let secrets
that seeped 6ft underground -
through the cracks,
one would postulate
that this was a doleful,
how to articulate?
there is only one way -
experience exsanguinate;
their charbroiled armour
now tarnished darker,
nourished the unseen seeds
of the Begin Again Beings
and their shoots shifted
from blunderbuss bullets
and cutting swords
pulled from stones,
to quills flourished
and bowing
to the never ending
silent war of roses;
breaking the surface rot,
growth was slowly seen
breaching up towards the Sun,
in the time of another’s
war strewn
journée poétique
Golden Trumpets
stood with Lilys-of-the-Fields
and Blue Lantana its
thistle down blown apart,
scattered and carried in waves
across the blue sky clouds,
to propagate and adorn
the thorny crowns
of black ravens
sitting on the shoulders
of their beloved
scarecrow masters,
their heraldry requiring
blood and the water
to dissolve their
steadfast blindfolds,
to clearly see as doves,
the beautiful great mystery
of the forgotten ones,
standing their ground
triumphant, never left,
never leaving,
bathed for all time
in the Sun
this is "1" story
of The Begin Again Beings
and how their well-fought for kingdom
was won
(LadyLabyrinth / 2023)
Black and white butterfly a rare single sighting
Idealized image caught upon film
Beautiful bounding insect drinking nectar
Against such colorful contrast of orange Lantana
A wonderful shot snapped in a twinkle of the eye
Photo snapped by a trained eye and skilled cameraman
A picturesque scene to last a lifetime
Amazing photography work hangs upon the museum wall
The butterfly flits about
Tasting each sweet nectar
Never remaining in one place
Reminder of the spectra
Black and white a beautiful sight
Mixed colors like choices
First on roses then foxglove's blooms
Silent is their voices
Orange Lantana is not special
This butterfly is fickle
Wanting faithfulness receiving
Dishonesty's prickles
Only one scar, from a kid in Montana.
His mom had him placed in a field of lantana.
The kid was still smiling as smoke from his vest
plumed when the bullet slammed through his chest.
With a split second draw as smooth as fresh cream,
another man falls just short of his dream.
He doesn't pull quicker to take the man's life
but to save the man years of a gunslinger's strife.
A welter of faces has challenged his game
but the soles of their boots all look the same.
The fame he once sought now plagues him in curse;
too many men he's lain in the hearse.
One day soon he'll give a slight pause
and a younger gunslinger will take up the cause.
They'll come for him too, from the east to the west
and he too in mercy, will lay them yo rest.
Bullfrogs greeted dusk.
Evening clouds cooled the heat waves.
Gathering for night,
Zebra longwings butterflies,
Rested near a moonlit pond.
Gardenia fragrance
Permeated summer air
Contradicting lantana.
Butterflies fluttered.
Drinking their nectar of choice.
Love was also there.
Drifting through eternal dreams.
Uplifting memories…us.
Forever with me.
Reflections upon my life,
Made more beautiful by you.
ã June 2, 2012
Dane Ann Smith-Johnsen
Written for Poetry Soup Member Contest: Lets Pass A Tanka Love Note
Sponsor ^Rick Parise
"Lantana"
Beans grown
in a belly
planted they bloom
through crimson
they arrive
trying to weed
the prickly parent purple
Lantana out
The future is
bright and shiny
just like a new penny
that was held in the hands
of pappy and mammy
But they know better
like no dog was ever a pup
or walked on a leash before
Entitled impunity
endorphins win out
Beans grown
in a belly
planted they bloom
trying to weed
the prickly parent purple
Lantana out
Entitled impunity
endorphins win
grinning
Serious insects
and Rust
kill the analgesic
the prickly parent purple
Lantana turns
the child
entitled
Inside
Out
(LadyLabyrinth / 2020)
“Everything You’ve Ever Learned” / Jack White
https://youtu.be/ruYd9n008RM
“Why Walk a Dog” / Jack White
https://youtu.be/1ZQiwUQldTM
"the interloper spreads its monstrous weeds
o’er what you cherished
now strangled, blighted and smothered
by a false mother,
overgrown..."
Looking at the backyard down through a window
Brought a smile on my lips watching the scene below
A squirrel was sniffing around some bushes
Another one was scurrying up and down on oak tree branches
A humming bird was drinking nectar from lantana flowers
A purple colored dragonfly was hovering around purple blossoms of crape myrtle
Pairs of house finches were chirping loudly in great excitement
A nuthatch and a titmouse also joined the melody with their own distinctiveness
A thought came to my mind of mindfulness
Isn’t it just taking time to observe the present moment with awareness?
The Yellow Swallowtail Butterfly kissed the Lantana
Light its flight carried by the wind lands 'pon my bandana
No nourishment but the butterfly lingers
Gently the Swallowtail flies to land 'pon the Purple Flock
Drinks nectar from the honeyed bloom then touches 'pon windsock
Off in flight comes once again lands 'pon my fingers
Sponsor: Gail Doyle
Contest: Butterfly Kisses
Rhyming couplets in a form of poulter's measure
With a interlocking tail rhyme
Wafting on winds many miles from home.
Hovering together splashes of black and white.
A Zebra Longwing colony home from the day’s roam,
Oh, how happy I was to see that old familiar sight.
Monarchs and Viceroys dash back and forth.
But Zebra Longwings roost after each days dance.
How did they get here so far north?
Eggs or chrysalises traveled by hurricane, perchance.
The pungent scent of lantana, there nourishment lies.
A delicious yellow and orange feast; oh sight.
The sweet nectar would fill the visiting butterflies.
Thickets and trees were explored, too, with delight.
Gathering at night, hovering, unlike other types.
That nostalgic moment felt so good inside.
Remembering long ago chasing illusive stripes.
Years had passed but butterfly kisses still abide.
© April 11, 2011
Dane Ann Smith-Johnsen
Written for Poetry Soup Member Contest: A Butterfly's Trail Of Kisses
Sponsored by: Gail Doyle
Caren, whose poetry sings with grand plumage,
swims with bouquets of flowers and such. You
inspire me! And aloha to William :)
HAWAII
Bird of paradise, plumeria, jasmine,
orchids, gardenia, hibiscus, primrose.
Aloha sea — paradise welcomes thee.
Cup of gold, elephant’s ear, fuchsia and firecrackers.
Lantana, glory bush, pineapple and Waikiki.
Queen Emma lily, prickly pear, silversword and sugarcane.
Hawaii islands erupting with ecstasies —
scents that rise the temperature, hues that squeal with desire,
cascading sounds of God’s mirth, adventure on steroids.
Come in, ebb and flow in dugout boats - leis floating
upon the deep-blue skies. Your hearts are pounding drums.
Don’t be shy. Grab this shelf of paradise. Don’t let go.
Aloha friends! Let’s all be friends. Planes fly in.
Koa, coconut, ‘ohi’ a lehua, candlenut, monkeypod,
noni, and lemon-scented gum. Mahalo nui!*
O’ahu, Maui, Kaua’i, Big, Lana’i and Moloka’i —
find your serenity, your northern shore, the allure
of life. Grab yourself a blue hawaii, piña colada,
mai tai, mimosa. Fill your cups with Eden’s fruit.
8/19/2020
*thank you very much ma-hah-lo-noo-ee)
A few of the famous had their preferences. Jack
Kerouac went on the road with his Underwood early thirties
portable Royal Standard. Isak Dinesen, the Danish Dinosaur,
(said with love, she was my hero) used a 1918 Corona No. 3
to serve up "Babette's Feast". An Underwood Standard
Portable was William Faulkner's choice. And, Hemingway?
A portable feast, He! He chose The Corona #3.
Mine was a plain old ordinary Royal, circa 1947,
punched with vigor on its stepladder keys in typing class
under the watchful eye of Ms. Marguerite, whose
married sister shared an infatuation with my wildly handsome
teenage brother. Though no suspicious spouse aborted
his apprenticeship of love, brother and I--Thank you
Republic of Korea-- were tapped by Fate. Off to the Navy,
dallying sibling, while I, young wife two years out of school,
bereft of spouse, my life in limbo, honed my craft
under the Sisters of Saint Joseph (those voluminous
black birds) on hot summer afternoons in
a second-story convent classroom.
In the courtyard below, lantana bloomed,
buzzing with the adoration of bees, and butterflies
flew free from the straitjackets of their cocoons
to an unfettered life, like me, the Army wife.
Korea, being my betrothed.
Hibiscus Sunrise
Fragrant breezes surround me,
sifting on the glowing rays
beyond the heather hedge,
walking barefoot,
senses fly,
lemonade the tint…
born upon this early morning sky
Lantana lullabies,
still a faint offering,
relinquish me of moon fed destinies,
setting me free once more
in the golden sheen of a pristine
hibiscus sunrise
Soft, a haze does find me
in a sphere of intoxicated dreams
swirling about this blue canopy,
this euphoric frame bordering
the tapestries of nature’s happiness
On this day wings sprout,
gossamer in saffron flow
from shoulders soft and bliss divine,
perfect of a vision I do long
to harbor near
For in my eyes again
reflects your beauty
and I touch you…
as I breath in the majesty of my desires,
thanking the heavens once more
for my morning blessings
Good morning Soupers
Hibiscus sunrise
Summer breezes surround me,
sifting on the glowing rays
beyond the heather hedge,
walking barefoot,
senses fly,
lemonade the tint…
born upon this early morning sky
Lantana lullabies,
still a faint offering,
relinquish me of moon fed destinies,
setting me free once more
in the golden sheen of a pristine
hibiscus sunrise
Soft, a haze does find me
in a sphere of intoxicated dreams
swirling about this blue canopy,
this euphoric frame bordering
the tapestries of nature’s happiness
On this day wings sprout,
gossamer in saffron flow
from shoulders soft and bliss divine,
perfect of a vision I do long
to harbor near
For in my eyes again
reflects your beauty
and I touch you…
Your smile finds my heart
as I breath in the majesty of my desires,
thanking the heavens once more
for my blessings
Good morning Soupers