A Tiny Poem About a Tiny Purple Plant

Image result for lithops optica rubra

With spring here, I figured I’d post another short poem—this one about a tiny purple plant.

To Lithops Optica cv Rubra

Merely
two turgid leaves
of purple—
more haiku
than sonnet.
Yet, like Caesar’s
Tyrian robe,
there is grandeur
in you.

 

Note: The Lithops optica cv rubra is a south African plant no larger than a thimble. I’ve collected lithops of various types since I was a kid in Denver, but the optica rubra, with its deep-purple leaves and white flowers, has always been my favorite.

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