Manchineel Poems | Examples


List of Member Poems

Premium Member Manchineel Tree

a curious wood
waits along our native shores
to bear some kindness,
but rain comes and the sap burns
whilst kingbirds perch in its crown

I Am a Manchineel Tree

Deceptively handsome and keeping a few secrets, I am in a word...intriguing.
Honestly a bit sexy if I do say so myself...and I do.
I love the beach, in fact I make my home on the coast, absolutely love the islands!
Come and sit with me on the soft, warm sand and let me share my secrets with you...
I'll shower you with bouquets of chartreuse blossoms...
And pamper you with fruit, sweet as honey but with a hidden bite.
I'll shade you from the harsh sun and sing you to sleep beneath my protective limbs.
You'll feel the warm tingle of my love coursing through your body as you drift away...
I love you, don't listen to them...they’re just jealous...we are meant for each other...
You know I never meant to hurt you...baby, you made me do it...you know it’s true.


I Am a Tree Poetry Contest
Sponsored by: Tania Kitchin 
9/25/2025

Indicium

black snakeroot, yew, cocklebur, poison (ivy, oak, parsnip, sumac, ryegrass, hemlock), blister bushes, daffodil, mayapple, lilium, jerusalem cherry, indian licorice, deadly nightshade, christmas rose, bleeding heart, asparagus berries, wolfsbane, tomato leaves, doll’s eyes, the suicide tree, young larkspur, blue-green algae, stinkweed, dumbcane, european spindle, blind-your-eye mangrove, manchineel, laburnum, mother of millions, elderberry root, bacterial pathogens, exotoxins, mycotoxins, grayanotoxins, rhinovirus, chicken pox, sleeping sickness, cholera, yellow fever, typhoid, rotavirus, river blindness, measles, japanese encephalitis, hepatitis (a,b & c), cryptosporidiosis, shigella infection, pneumonia, meningitis, tuberculosis, schistosomiasis, malaria, influenza, herpes (1 & 2), crab louse, scabies, chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, chancroid, trichomoniasis, hpv, hiv/aids, ebola virus, marburg virus, mad cow disease, mudslides, avalanches, blizzards, storms, cyclones, hurricanes, tsunamis,  tornadoes, earthquakes, floods, fires, supervolcanic eruptions: evidence of absence.


Looking for the formal definition, structure, and history of this poetry form? Visit the Poetry Dictionary entry below. Then return to explore how PoetrySoup members bring the form to life through their own poems.

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