We who with songs beguile your pilgrimage / And swear that Beauty lives though lilies die, / We Poets of the proud old lineage / Who sing to find your hearts, we know not why ... (James Elroy Flecker)

19.7.25

In Winter, Camellias













In winter, camellias bloom.


(Japanese roses, I was once told.

I don’t know if that’s true, but

I like to think it. It makes them

for me a symbol of Reiki healing, 

which began in Japan … although

it really began in the far-off first

morning of the world.)


In winter, camellias bloom.


A friend brings me a red one 

from her garden. I have

the perfect vase. In a home

cluttered with books and papers,

I place it in the centre of my kitchen

on a plain wooden board

on top of the 'island'.


In winter, camellias bloom.


Another friend arranges them 

for when I visit, around 

the edges of a big shallow bowl:

alternating deep pink and pale.

Then she gives them to me.

I find two shallow plates, one

for each colour. They float serene.


In winter, rejoice! Camellias bloom.
















Shared today at my Instagram profile and with dVerse OpenNight #387.



16 comments:

  1. Your poem reminds me of my daughter and her colourful garden, Rosemary, where pink camellias bloom every spring. I didn’t know they are called Japanese roses, but I have seen many Japanese images of them, so I think that is true.

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  2. This is gorgeously encapsulated! I love; "I find two shallow plates, one for each colour. They float serene." 😍😍

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  3. They are beautiful. I especially like the photo of the deep pink one at the top.

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  4. A lovely day surrounded with flowers and fragrance :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Wanna? Gonna? do this for the
    length N breadth O eternity??
    Here's how, ya wildchild you:
    ● NOPEcantELOPE.blogspot.com ●
    Cya@the Wedding Party-Hardy...

    ReplyDelete
  6. Beautiful, Rosemary. I like the repetition of the line "in winter, camellias bloom." They are such beautiful flowers.

    ReplyDelete
  7. That repetition is so effective and makes one think about the strategy of a plant flowering in Winter - beautiful all around...

    ReplyDelete
  8. I like the repetition of camellias blooming in winter, and the hopeful call to rejoice in the end.

    ReplyDelete

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