#napowrimo #poetry
And now for today’s (optional) prompt. The word florilegium refers to a book of botanical illustrations of decorative plants and also a collection of excerpts from other writings. In her poem, “Florilegium,” Canadian poet Sylvia Legris gathers together many five-lined stanzas that describe flowers but also play with the sounds of their names, their medical (or poisonous) qualities, and historical aspects of herbalism. Today, pick a flower or two (or a whole bouquet, if you like) from this online edition of Kate Greenaway’s Language of Flowers. Now, write your own poem in which you muse on your selections’ names and meanings. If you’re so inclined, you could even do some outside research into your flowers and incorporate facts that you learn into your work.
Happy writing!
REMEMBRANCE/POISON
(A suite of unrhymed cinquains)
Poppy
Blood‑bright,
lifting through churned earth,
a fragile flag of memory
returning each spring.
Monkshood
purple hooded
flowers called Devil's helmet
or Wolfsbane, poisonous
plant in the UK.
Rosemary
Sharp sprig,
its scent rising
like a name spoken aloud
by Shakespeare
Deadly Nightshade,
all parts toxic,
purple green flowers
should not be touched
it brings silence
Forget‑me‑not,
Small stars
clustered at the edge
of water and loss–
holding fast to love.
Foxgloves,
Beautiful but deadly,
fanciful gloves for the
fey folk, or foxes,
Digitalis purpurea.
White Rose
Soft bloom,
cool as a held breath,
offering its stillness
to the pain.
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