This is the lignum vitae
A tough flower on dry ground
This is the wood of life
The mother of Merlin's wand
The native child
Of my native land
Do not peel her bark
Or your children shall die
In some conspicuouus dark
Of womb and mind
If you cut her
Make sure your blade is sharp
To test the pulse
Of granite wood
or polish her her slowly
To required taste
This is lignum vitae
Hard as a man ready
To root his posterity here
And when she is shaped
Into what you want her to be
When her contours are chiselled out
And the hand that caresses her
Is sandpaper rough with eagerness
When you peel her of bark and dress
You will see her skiin vnished and smooth
You will see Jamaica
Pannicle cluster hanging together
Like this flower in any weather
You will see heart wood unfeigned
By the challenges of life
Categories:
pannicle, political, flower, flower,
Form: Free verse
In purple majesty now
The lignum vitae bloom
Across the arid plains
Moths and birds swim
Upon its rare perfume
And tourists stare
Upon the short and stocky tree
With rugged heart and strong roots
That suckle water from a droughted land
They look but do not understand
It is the symbol of the man.
My people up through rough times
Come laughing each new dawn
The wind blows them ragged
But never a sigh, they just go on
Without care for the world's rich things
Each little blessing is enough
To make the rugged heart sing
And as this tree, the national flower
Bloom beauty out of arid dust
My people bring productivity
From barren times
With only God to trust.
We are a model of the lignum vitae
A sustained strength
A permanent sanctuary of beauty
A happiness that never relents
Yet delicate in human caring
As each purple pannicle of flower
A Lignum vitae love
Drawing each separate goal into one:
O Jamaica, bloom forever.
Categories:
pannicle, inspirational, nature, upliftingheart, people,
Form: Free verse