Mist feathery drifts
last night’s breath loosening
above basalt slopes of Huatung
Pacific swallows trace morning brushwork
over Fuli’s rice paddies
new green scented with rain.
Xiuguluan River flows jade mountain-born
among ancestral stones
white willows in Ruisui weep
dew-kissed
cycad fronds catching first sunlight
Leaf pearls gather on my thatched sandals
Walami earth holds stories in its coolness.
Bihe Pond rests hidden in Wanrong’s stillness
waters reflecting the tribe’s quiet prayers
Bamboo leaves in green and gold
crested mynas gather in quiet repose
wind moves with the chime of a temple bell.
Ancestral path wanders into the Central Range
oolong tea clouds drift
above Qilai’s blue ridges
A white egret lifts over Guangfu’s terraces
air clear as poured Longjing.
A bulbul calls
blue magpie glides
the slow unlayering of day
Huatung Calligrapher’s span warm to newborn light
time unspools—
bright
unmeasured.
Light widens
dawn follows Yu Shan’s shadowed valleys
the world in quiet promise
soft light
drifting into morning.
Categories:
cycad, morning, mountains, nature, peace,
Form: Imagism
For Sale
~~~~~
Australian botanical cycad
Dark evergreen foliage
Grows huge
Includes large modern Norwegian oval pot
Quick reluctant sale
Tenacious unique variety
Wonderful xerophyte young Zamia
Categories:
cycad, garden, nature,
Form: ABC
One folded frond
out from dark earth,
fuzzy and newborn
in pink feathers
of this day's dawn.
Rising.
Categories:
cycad, life, nature,
Form: Free verse
Reflections of an ancient time
Unfold the visions in my mind.
Fruits of earth, fragrant, sublime.
Beseeched creatures “Come find.”
Lush and green was every scene.
Then, dinosaurs reigned supreme.
Now, man looks and only dreams.
As portraits of the past are seen…
Tomorrow grows, as does each day.
Fresh fruit shall find its future stay.
Manifestations of early time,
God teaching reason and rhyme.
January 30, 2011
Dane Smith-Johnsen
The first link is to my photo of the plant that inspired this poem.
http://daneann.redbubble.com/sets/74236/works/3299226-2-blooming-palm
The second link is to information about the plant.
http://waynesword.palomar.edu/ww0803b.htm
Categories:
cycad, nature
Form: Rhyme
A
pot plant,
this cycad-
now four metres
wide
takes
living
in its stride-
Kew's long-lasting
pride
Encephalartos altensteinii
brought to Kew in 1775 from SA,grows one inch a year.
Categories:
cycad, nature
Form: Lanterne