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.
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.