SY: Rooted Angels

NaPoWriMo Challenge Prompt Week 5:

April is a time for planting things (at least where I am, in Washington DC – you may still be waiting for spring, or well into some other season!) At any rate, I’ve recently been paging through seed catalogs, many of which feature “heirloom” seeds with fabulous names. Consider the “Old Ivory Egg” tomato, the “Ozark Razorback” or “Fast Lady” cow-pea, “Neal’s Paymaster” dent corn, or the “Tongues of Fire” bush bean. Today, I challenge you to spend some time looking at the names of heirloom plants, and write a poem that takes its inspiration from, or incorporates the name of, one or more of these garden rarities. To help you out, here are links to the Southern Exposure Seed Exchange and the Baker Creek Seed Company. Also, here’s a hint – tomatoes seem to be prime territory for elaborate names. And who knows, maybe you’ll even find something to plant in your garden!!

Rosa chinensis, often called angel wings, 

Gracefully, her precious, dainty buds bloom,

Delicate like fine, antique china,
Royal sheets of velvet, intricately layered,
Doubled on each other like a double coin knot.

Her petals, white like exquisite porcelain,
Painted with calligraphy in deep rose-red,

Accompanied with strokes of shell pinks,
The edges of her wings ruffled,
Decorated with soft, richly coloured embroidery.

This oriental treasure sweetly scented,
Like the subtle fragrance of apple blossoms,

Adorned by the gardens of the majestic,
These angels stay through the seasons,
Prospering more as the years go by.

- SY

01:57H 21st June 2016

Jalan Pahang

SY is a 'Jacqueline of all trades' who loves wearing plaids.
She doesn't believe in things that fade and fulfills the promises that she made.
She seeks the hearts of the troubled, to be a listener in times when things are doubled.
She's the kind who stands in the gap, who will only call it quits when it's a wrap.