Alpine Flower a Day: Mountain foxglove
Alpine Flower a Day: Day 19, Mountain foxglove (Ourisia macrophylla)
– little flowers on 50cm tall stalks with relatively big(macro) leaves (phylla)
– this one (of many) spotted in bush clearing just past Granity hut, Kahurangi
Unemployed at 50
That shining, that sprung up
from heathen leaf, such a base
for labour, even manager material,
all day he digs-in, calls out
to the tutelary sun, so close
to the beatings.
...
Haha just the first stanza – a teaser today – because I've decided I'm going to keep this one for my flora collection I'm working on - you'll have to buy the book when it gets finished!
I'm writing from Lake Tekapo, another mini writing retreat I'm on – my third already this year – I'm so lucky! and I'll be collecting some more botanical lovelies too. Oh no, I feel another poem coming on ...
I'm so lucky
because I have friends who love
writing because I live in a country
that has no community transmission
because I have children
who are growing up in a cracked house
that lets light in because I have
a body with lungs for walking because
I can head to Antarctica or steep
motherless pigs with love or bask in the presence
of a small flower on a whim because
outside this window there is a lake sparkling
with crushed rock
If you're interested in the inspiration behind this month-long series of 'An Alpine Flower A Day' about NZ alpine flowers and poems, you can find more in my first post: An Alpine Flower A Day Enjoy!
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