these benedight flowers

Pretty much just going to be a reference page for types of flowers and picture prompts. I'll try to do at least one poem for the eighteen I've so happily received as a collection. From there, I might go back and revisit some, or add some more flowers to the scene, as some are really pretty and probably would be fun to explore.

reference: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/ ... bile_2.jpg

1. lilium amabile (a)

at first glance, she looks like
she is simply stretching up
towards the light that gives her life.

try as she might blend in with
a red species, her history
betrays her, with hints of yellow
and orange leaking from her within.

with a closer look, however,
her stigmas droop down, leaving
her petaled head glancing away
from the bright sun in the sky.

she curls towards her back,
shielding herself against possible
threats of her precious space.

So beautiful!

Beautiful beginning to your NaPo fraey. I love how the first two lines can totally be interpreted as being a person rather than a plant, which then colors how one reads the rest of the poem; it has a sort of cautious innocent feeling that I wouldn't expect coming through in a poem about flowers. Really looking forward to seeing what you write over April, and how you'll manage to keep variety writing over the same subject material. You can do it!

I love this first poem! You really used some great imagery, especially when describing the yellow "leaking from within"! It was a great word to show that the flower couldn't contain her true colors. Good first poem!

Spoiler

Thank you so much @bluewaterlily!

I was certainly excited to be doing some official** flower poetry now, so here's to hoping I can keep it up XD @alliyah Thanks a lot! I wasn't sure where I was going to take this first poem, but I liked getting that definitely "lighter" tone going on.

@ellasnotebook Thanks! I was trying to find the right word to describe that, so I'm glad you liked the effects ^^

reference: https://www.pacificbulbsociety.org/pbsw ... le_DC4.jpg

2. lilium amabile (b)

somedays, i skip among plants
crawling up from wet dirt,
but only in my dreams,
jam-packed between dark clouds
and a light blue peeking through,
innocent as a sky can be when
presented with adversity.

today, i find a flower, curled
not unlike one i received yesterday,
but with matching dots-as-freckles
along my face and arms, playing
constellation games with the more
that seem to pop up.

this one's a proud, red-orange,
bold like the rare times i'll
speak up among not-so-friendly faces
in a quiet, cold classroom, and
maybe there will come a time
that i can be inspired to be more
than just a wisp of a root growing
underneath the happy ground.

amabile reminds me of amable
in spanish, like a friendly bulb
that bursts open at the calling
of a stranger, wanting a moment
to simply say hello.

I love your second poem! My favorite part about it was the very last stanza. Something about you introducing the Spanish word amable was really kind of refreshing, and the imagery you use is great! I especially liked how you said the bulbs burst open! It gave me a very energetic happy feeling.

Spoiler

Thanks @ellasnotebook! I really wasn't sure how to finish that poem, and I kept thinking about amable/amabile, so I'm really glad you liked that part!

reference: https://www.gardenia.net/rendition.slid ... 0album.jpg

3. lilium regale

are white flowers royalty?
the signs of the times
weathered they may be,
worth far more than dimes.

but only to a certain few
that cry loud booms
with the morning dew
yet fight their own dooms.

these proud, full wings
of a person that towers
over thrown-away things
they made from their powers.

a quick turn of their wrist
can topple a mountain
or darken a lovely tryst,
yet spring life to a fountain.

reference: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/ ... zer%27.jpg

4. lilium 'stargazer'

pink fades to white in a
sudden, brush-stroke,
bits of space lie between
the edges of petals.

a bountiful of dots,
darker, almost red-purple
color, furl outwards,
displaying their prominent
shades to their friends.

limp, deep green leaves
and stems try to hold
up the heavy flower,
struggling to not topple
over with admiration
and a pinch of fear.

i am a stargazer as i look
on the dotted blossoms,
clumped together yet
spread apart, much like
made-up mimications
of the twinkling lights
that hover above us.

reference: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/ ... auense.jpg

5. lilium tsingtauense

[I]

this is orange as the sunrise, or sunset,
whatever you'd prefer,
(this is your story after all)
grace your lips like it's a tangerine flavor,
that you lick off with your tongue because
you can't get enough

[II]

i found a flower yesterday that was
orange like the sunrise, or sunset
in this case, because you said goodbye
in laying down sweetpea and cyclamen,
light shades of pink on my gray pillow.

it reminds me of your tangerine-tinged
smile that shaped a grimace when the
flavor got too sweet, and your back molars
hurt and you clenched down on your lip,
gnawing to flee the burst on your tongue.

a bloom waits to display its colors,
much like i waited in the clouds for
you to drag me back down,
skipping steps on light fluff then
falling once they got too heavy.

reference: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/ ... rifica.jpg

6. rosa stellata

[I]

he's cute, this little bud of
a thin branch trying to squeeze
out of the dead ropes around him.

a pale purple wanting to be as
bright as the far larger species
miles away from his position.

i don't want to crush you,
not like others have to me,

those who pushed me
further into the ground
until i can only feel a light wind pass
by me and ruffle my petals.

[II]

he's the closest bud to where i
stand, cute as a pale purple button
that decorates my jean jacket.

out of the growing green robes
around him, this little flower spurts
out, a tendril his only company,
a lightly leafed support system.

he reminds me of a child i knew
once, when the sun stayed out
until half-past eight and the stars
were still close enough to count
and believe in.

i still have those
threaded, multi-colored bracelets
we made, to say we were here,
to keep this as a memory in
a locked box of young innocence.

reference: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/ ... olia_4.jpg

7. rosa minutifolia

[I]

you came up
as one species,
left as another,
those older than
you debating on
what/who you are,
what lies beneath
your green stems.

whether you're a
rose or deserve
your own genus,
it doesn't matter
as much as
what you believe
yourself to be,
in your heart
made of leaves

[II]

you're too unique,
the voices claim,
not enough to
be a true rose,
your leaves too small,
your color is too pale,
or so the experts say to all.

it's not up to you,
those with the power,
the control that
white lab coats bring,
demand a change
you don't agree with.
you don't understand
why they can decide.

there's a floral force
brewing within your
new buds, your sepals
ready to fight in your stead,
while you slowly rise up
to give your own opinion,
finally, you can breathe.

hey fraey! It's been a while (I was on a choir trip :p) but the best part is I got to come back and read all of your wonderful poems!

I have to say my favorite is #3, but I'm also just a sucker for rhyming! I also really loved #5, especially the second part. There was such good imagery! I'm really enjoying the flower theme of your poems (they're all so colorful!!!), keep up the good work!!!

I love the whole concept of this. It's like an encyclopedia but if you had to describe the soul of things instead of the function.

Spoiler

@ellasnotebook I'm scared of rhyming stuff, so I'm glad you liked that one! Thanks!
Also, thanks @Tenyo! I'm trying to go between what the flowers actually are and a bit of their own history, then mix in my feelings. I've had a lot of fun with this so far XD

reference: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/ ... nur_01.jpg

extra note: ey/em/eir are pronouns

8. rosa persica

it's quite difficult, for an onlooker,
to realize in one's mind that ey
is a rose, despite eir beet red center.

no stipules grow to mar eir's beauty,
too captivated by soft pale sun-kissed
petals to demand an explanation
as to why ey earned their distinct colors.

however, that doesn't mean ey is a saint,
instead, ey wander much like the regular
dandelion weeds in the grass, invading
other's space in sprouting eir blooms,
overwhelming those that are more faded.

yet, i would be lying if i said i didn't
love em for that trait, of wanting to
live, to survive, and be motivated
enough to take a chance to grow.