Author: Gypsie-Ami Offenbacher-Ferris

Blossom of infinite beauty
colors beyond understanding
or comprehension
by a mortal eye.

Flower rising clean and pure
from your bed of mud
and slime each night,
you slip beneath to sleep.

Your rebirth and renewal
gives hope to the spiritual,
ceremony to the religious,
and connection to the universe for all.

Gods and Goddesses
form their heavenly thrones,
from your strong
magnificent flowers.

Your scent lifts
our souls skyward,
to dance and commune
with the Divinity in life and death.

Ancient and wise is the Lotus Flower,
whose roots form in the densest mud
and flowers burst forth
in stunning beauty.

In response to Punam’s Challenge to Write a Poem that Addresses Itself or some aspect of its self (i.e., “Dear Poem,” or “what are my quatrains up to?”; “Couplet, come with me . . .”)

_______________________________________

Do not ask this of me
I won’t do it at all
I am too tired you see
Try again in the Fall

To rhyme or not to rhyme
there’s no question of that
I just do not have the time
I’m a poem not an acrobat

You can not toss words around
there is protocol and structure to me
I refuse to be your silly word clown
Now go away and just let me be!

The first time
With your tubular blossoms
all woolly and curved.
A kangaroo’s paw
you mimic from way Down Under.

Red petals adorn
a strong deep green stem.
Quite furry and bad tasting
to keep predators away.

Humans adore you
keeping you in their homes.
Until someone they love
finds they need you even more.

Wattle birds love you
and perch on your stem,
with honey suckers too
drinking nectar from within.

Your petals fallen like feathers
from a fairy princesses jeweled
mantle.
Soft as the most exquisite silk
a fragile beauty of strength and
mettle.

Elegant in stature and bloom
some believe you
denote
death, destruction and doom
a killer plant housing awful
evil.

Lovely Jeweled Orchid
who has fueled
imaginations
Brought down houses and kingdoms
with your secret
machinations.

You bring good luck to many
to those who
believe
Neglect you or treat you poorly
and you can bring Kings to their
knees.

Little red star so small
and so strong
you’ve been the topic
of legend and song

Oklahoma as a state
chose you to represent
their laws and mandates
honoring your gentle scent

On the Prairie you grow
wild and free without care
crossed petals of strength
giving hope to folks there

Forefathers of old cherished your gifts and light beauty
forging magic and mystery
from your endless booty

It would be such a waste
to lose your ancient ways
we must teach our children
to keep you safe for all days

In response to bushboy’s world Last On The Card – March 2023

Pink is the color
in little girl’s minds
Pink is the color of friendship
and love of all kinds

White is the color
of purity and chaste
Beauty from within
ultra femininity faced

Yellow is the color
of summer’s sunshine
Bringing contented happiness
and good luck to all mankind

Purple is the color
it’s the one I like best
Fosters knowledge
and courage to face all tests

Red is the color
for love, lust and blood
Anger runs bone deep
when thorns pierce life’s glove

Hibiscus is the color
the Islands bring to us
Diversity is beauty
a good lesson to trust

Purest scent so subtle so sweet
no other holds your secret redolence
A fragile bud that loves sunny treats
it shies away from wintery streets

Memories of childhood days
when Florida was wonderfully tropical
Palm Trees swayed while we played
Gardenia’s perfume surrounding the glade

Bringer of peace and tranquility
bearer of true love and affection
Gardenia with your white so bright
no evil can penetrate no ghostly light

Blissful is the fragrance you carry
a guiding halo for the spiritually weary
Symbol of goodwill throughout history
a joyful reminder of nature’s mystery

In response to pensitivity’s Three Things Challenge #M391
FRIGHT, HALLELUJAH, CINDERS

It was fright that kept me from submitting my novel to a publisher!pp
I sang hallelujah when the acceptance letter came in the mail!
I burned the letter to cinders upon discovering the publisher to be a vanity press!

Pressed into a petite maidens hand,
a young sailor gifts his loved one
with bouquets of this sweet flower.

Forget-Me-Not he whispers.

The same flower brings good luck, it’s said, to those young people whose duty
calls them far away from home.

Forget-Me-Not they say.

A long wedding gown, a Mother’s happy tears flow past channels
of age upon her face.

Forget-Me-Not she cries.

A husband of many years
kneeling in the church, a casket
draped in her favorite flowers.

Forget-Me-Not he remembers.