The Show of Your Lifetime

By: aromaproductions on 1:55 PM

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For Dilsa Capdeville, my former classmate (St. Peter and Paul School, St. Thomas, US, Virgin Islands, who challenged me to write poems about the photographs of flowers that I take and post on Facebook.  This one is for you.

The Show of Your Lifetime

(Ode to Blossoms)

It is not yet time for your striptease.

That comes when you prepare to depart,

comes after putting on the show of your lifetime,

after sharing your splendor,

then leaving, petal falling silently upon petal,
or slowly shriveling into brown decay.

In mid-spring you are

an upside-down umbrella

opening slowly,

to greet the world,

revealing your beauty

to our admiring eyes.

.

You hang on the wall

of my memory,

and in the photograph

I could not resist taking,

finding your colors,

red and white, alluring.

Your blossoms are nature’s imitation

of strawberry-vanilla ice-cream

offered on a platter of green leaves,

you are a firm-stemmed popsicle,

living art on display in our gardens.

© Althea Romeo-Mark 07.06. 18

Footnote from Wikipedia

. Azaleas /əˈzeɪliə/ are flowering shrubs in the genus Rhododendron, particularly the former sections Tsutsuji (evergreen) and Pentanthera (deciduous). Azaleas bloom in spring, their flowers often lasting several weeks. Shade tolerant, they prefer living near or under trees. They are part of the family Ericaceae. In Chinese culture, the azalea is known as "thinking of home bush" (sixiang shu) and is immortalized in the poetry of Du Fu. The azalea is also one of the symbols of the city of São Paulo, in Brazil.^[3]

Azaleas and rhododendrons were once so infamous for their toxicity that to receive a bouquet of their flowers in a black vase was a well-known death threat.

Azaleas are native to several continents including Asia, Europe, and North America. They are planted abundantly as ornamentals in the southeastern US, southern Asia, and parts of southwest Europe.

Rhododendron /ˌroʊdəˈdɛndrən/ (from Ancient Greek ῥόδον rhódon "rose" and δένδρον déndron "tree")^[3][4] is a genus of 1,024 species of woody plants in the heath family (Ericaceae), either evergreen or deciduous, and found mainly in Asia, although it is also widespread throughout the highlands of the Appalachian Mountains of North America. It is the national flower of Nepal. Most species have brightly colored flowers which bloom from late winter through to early summer.^[5]

Azaleas make up two subgenera of Rhododendron. They are distinguished from "true" rhododendrons by having only five anthers per flower.

Althea Romeo-Mark, Caribbean educator and writer. The Nakedness of New, her most recent anthology,, is available on Amazon and Kindle.