Conch Sound
the garden of North Andros
the place where my father's navel string lay
The settlement sits on the vicinity of the waterfront
with old Bahamian vessels piloted by One Eyed Jacob
drifting across the sea winds
while it's calm blue hole calmly sleeps
on the pillow of the ocean
The land has a multitude of
healthy, growing trees and saplings
bearing mangoes, coco plums
coconuts and star fruits
the fruits of their labor
We can cross the creek near Johnson's Hill
with caution at low tide
passing through the tranquil kingdom
of the mangroves
red, white, black and buttonwood
to take a view of the old cemetery
the testing place of my ancestors from long ago
submerged in multitudes of sand grains
Categories:
buttonwood, appreciation, beautiful, beauty, imagery,
Form: Free verse
You Texas Cuspidata!
Not you, and not a curse:
Taxus cuspidata, for Japanese Yew!
So, don’t confuse a plant with the Ibex
Ilex serrata – that’s Christmas Holly
Or Japanese Winterberry
Butterflies, butternuts, a Buttinsky?
Shut your eyes, it’s Conocarpus erectus
(Pastor here is only saying "Buttonwood" in Latin)
Meanwhile in nature, the pines of Japan
Are dwarfed like bottled thunder:
Pinus thunbergiana
The Christmas Spirit is perennial in China (?)
Schinus terebinthifolius
(Again, Latin for another plant: Christmasberry)
Try to bonsai gladly;
A creeper in your home or villa;
Haha! Bourgainvillea glabra
My dad called this beauty, Pride of India!
Myrtle set me right, but India won at the end:
Laegerstroemia indica
Neighbors, boyhood buddies, international relations?
Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry? No plant connection:
Just Hackberry named Celtis sinensis
(c) Modified 20170417, Deo. This poem was previously published in my book in 2005 (UnAmerican Education: Poetry and Politics, by Red Lead Press)
Categories:
buttonwood, art, flower, garden, humor,
Form: Didactic