Nature Poetry

My nature poetry is simple short verse, similar to haiku and senryu but informal, following no rules. Enjoy! Disclaimer:  There are the occasional longer nature poems included here also.

The term ‘short verse’ can refer to haiku or any other of the several 5-7-5 syllable poetry genres.  Here we will generally stick to the 5-7-5 format and allow for most perspectives and topics so long as there is a nexus with Florida and wildflowers, native plants, wildlife or natural resources, and the poem can be uttered with one breath.

Though natural wonders abound across the world, Florida is a special place to experience surprising marvels.  Short verse has allowed me to condense the ‘there is so much to learn and know’ of Florida nature into a manageable amount of time and brain storage.  With so much to see and know, Florida Short Verse Poetry can guide one across the state, exploring both common and little known wonders for those who have a limited amount of free time.

As an aortic dissection survivor with a mechanical aortic valve I live in an ever-clicking environment, one with a built-in metronome embedded in my chest, one that clicks audibly each second.  These omniscient ‘clicks’ have reset my brain to think in terms of meter and short verse; hence my obsession with prose.

I grew up living in Florida as did my parents and their parents.   My ecological career has taken me across the state’s wilds.  My law education inspires me to hope for preservation of our State’s wonders so our children and grandchildren too can experience Florida’s marvel.

Our state is often described as a ‘global biodiversity hotspot’.  Sadly, this designation today is threatened by human pressures.  Yet an understanding of Florida’s natural resources can help to conserve and protect wildflowers, wildlife, geology and community today and in the future.  

Nature art and short verse have helped heal much of my chronic disease.  I hope this series of poetry and art will heal and inspire others to look for life’s answers in the shores, swamps, cities, backroads, culture and nature of this amazing state.

I find immense complexity, beauty and fun in the lines and curves of native plant geometry.  Here is a short poem about the lines and curves of Florida's native plants:

Lines and Curves

childhood Florida

plants their recognizable

unique curves and lines

distinct shapes evoke bright

memories of when and where

i last touched their leaves

or when the corners

of my mouth turned up and i

looked back for the

subtle fragrance source

wonderfully overwhelmed with

geometric shapes

leaves, branches, flowers and stems

i don’t even focus

my eyes for i know those

distinct curves and lines 

nature’s sketch pad

from all those past days

exploring swamps dunes

forests hills and glades

Florida native plants

sea oats at the beach

sandspurs in my feet

drawn with both sharp angles and 

soft curves

or the maze of tangled

moss swaying below outstretched

oak limbs, curves upon curves,

upon curves just

next to obesely large

satin white magnolia blossoms 

sweeping high above

saw palmetto’s outstretched

fronds their open hands with

so many fingers full

of flora’s geometry pointing above

tangled green below

dewberry wrapping around

sharper than smilax

its purple fruits strewn by 

soft beds tiny violets

the earth fully blanketed over 

lyre leaf sage

dark purple and green

complex cut curves

edging vast longleaf pine

flatwoods those swept

of swaying wire grasses 

beacon-like fire bright 

pineland lilies

orange yellow red

tepals curved with more curves

my fingers tracing

the flower’s flowing outline in the air

just beyond lies

stillwater basins lined 

carnivorously those

pitcher plant meadows

a marriage of more lines and curves

adjacent ancient cypress 

trees still straight and tall

again lined up in dark but clear

shallows where lines and

curves of cypress needles and

pop ash leaves barely 

discernible in subtle earth toned

pond water 

earth’s leaf art

framed and stained with 

tannins flowing south

north of great fields

pointed sawgrass

currents beneath carrying

nutrients to reddish

brown mangrove arches

rubber vine laced

more curves upon curves

vertically mirrored

brine curving flows

so many lines and

curves to sketch here

lying down on the

cool earth to contemplate now

immense beauty of

native plant art so

full of lines and curves

La Mar & My Cup of Tea

Florida Nature Haiku-Senryu by Kevin Songer

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rumbling storm vibrates
oceanfront window panes
and my cup of tea
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Monarch Butterfly’s migratory flight across the gulf

Monarch butterfly feeds in preparation for it's winter migratory flight across the Gulf

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one last nectar sip
as kaleidoscope gathers
over the shoreline
nature's refinement
eight hundred miles cross the gulf
waves swallow many
the strongest survive
maybe luckiest rest in
oyamel fir trees
…

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Fragrant water lily, Nymphaea odorata

Florida Nature Haiku & Art, Fragrant Water Lily by Kevin Songer

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sweeter scent none else
shallow blue fishing spot
blooms bugs and bass
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lazy kayaking
lily pads circle round and round
floating two eyed log
…

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Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea)

Florida Nature Poetry & Art, Purple Coneflower by Kevin Songer

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too many’s a crowd
genetic diversity
is survival’s key
purple coneflower
displays its finest array
intently seeking
long distant bee for random
cross pollination

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Florida field of Echinacea purpurea, Purple Coneflower by Kevin Songer

Purple coneflower depends on long distance bees to spread pollen across hectares, enhancing genetic biodiversity.  In turn, bees profit from Echinacea's nectar sustenance. 

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Buttonbush, Cephalanthus occidentalis

Florida Nature Haiku Poetry, Buttonbush, Cephalanthus occidentalis

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slough bush quiet rustle
loud cicadas hush as wood
duck leaves her nest,
gliding across still pond,
below bees busy with sweet
buttonbush blooms
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Feathers, Wind and a Seagull

Florida Haiku, Feather, Wind and Seagull by Kevin Songer

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stout wind today
pull feather from the sand and

out pops a seagull
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Lyre Leaf Sage, Salvia lyrata

Florida Wildflower Haiku & Art, Lyre Leaf Sage, Salvia lyrata by Kevin Songer

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native purple blooms
hummingbirds steal a sip and
chase off butterflies
…
Lyre-leaf sage is a Florida native and drought tolerant wildflower I see growing across lawns, along roadsides, in fields, meadows and under the forest canopy.

Lyre-leaf sage leaves are lyre-like in shape with deep purple and green colorings. Their light blue flowers provide nectar for hummers and butterflies. The over-lapping leaves of adjacent lyre leaf sage plants keep other weeds down and provide a neat, well-cropped perennial native ground cover appearance. Lyre leaf sage has been one of my favorite and most reliable green roof plants.

Lyre leaf sage has also been used traditionally as a cancer cure. This healing practice was based on a theory that because the plant quickly spread, creating densely populated patches, it must be a natural cure for likewise rapidly spreading cancers. 

Lyre leaf sage is an amazing Florida native perennial, landscape or green roof plant superb in its attraction to pollinators, hummingbirds, bees and butterflies.

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Seaside Oxeye Daisy, Borrichia frutescens

Florida Haiku & Nature Art, Seaside Ox-eye, Borrichia frutescens

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sometimes cant tell if
sun bleached oxeye masses or
winged southern whites
…
Seaside oxeye daisy is relatively salt tolerant and often grows along brackish channels near the coast. Seaside oxeye daisy faithfully produces scores of yellow aster type flowers that attract many butterflies but especially kaleidoscopes of winged southern whites. I usually find seaside oxeye daisy grown side by side with black mangroves. Wildlife will utilize this plant’s leaves and flower heads for forage when food becomes scarce.

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Marsh Rose Gentian, Sabatia dodecandra

Florida Wildflower Haiku, Marsh Rose Gentian, Sabatia dodecandra by Kevin Songer

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limestone rock croppings
bees butterflies skipper art
rose gentian drawn
…

Tarkiln Bayou State Park, Marsh Rose Gentian, Sabatia dodecandra by Kevin Songer

Rose gentian has about a dozen different species found throughout Florida (Sabatia spp.). 

Tarkiln Bayou State Park, Marsh Rose Gentian, Sabatia dodecandra by Kevin Songer

Rose gentian’s flowers are rich in purple and pink hues. When in full summer bloom, Sabatia can fill a roadside drainage swale with incredible swaths of pink and purple. 

Tarkiln Bayou State Park, Marsh Rose Gentian, Sabatia dodecandra by Kevin Songer

Some accounts may exist where early settlers dried Sabatia root and then brewed a chicory-like coffee with the plant parts. This may be a historical carry over from traditions in Europe where the same was practiced with great yellow gentian, Gentiana lutea.

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Wild petunia, Ruellia caroliniensis

Florida Wildflower Haiku - Short Verse & Art, Wild Petunia, Ruellia caroliniensis by Kevin Songer

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purple bloom nectar
attracts pollinators all,
far into scrub woods
…

Wild petunia is always a surprise to discover growing in the woods as the plant and flower brings an aura of nice-neat cultivation to rough and ramble undergrowth. Wild petunia is a cousin of the more invasive Mexican petunia yet wild petunia is a prized Florida native wildflower and does not grow in an invasive manner. The common buckeye and white peacock butterflies seek out wild petunia as larval host plant.

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Seaside goldenrod and Mangrove buckeye.

Florida Nature Poetry, Seaside Goldenrod, Mangrove Buckeye by Kevin Songer

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harvest goldenrod
mangrove buckeye both bargain,
anticipate first frost
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Snowy Egrets & Sanibel

Florida Poetry, Haiku - Senryu, Sanibel & Snowy Egrets by Kevin Songer 

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sanibel traffic
hit the causeway early for
best picnic table
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Shiny blueberry, Vaccinium myrsinites

Florida Haiku, Shiny blueberry, Vaccinium myrsinites by Kevin Songer

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I always wondered
bout shiny blueberry’s taste,
rabbit got there first

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Shiny blueberry is a diminutive member of the blueberry family offering winter seasonal beauty with its namesake bright and shiny red and green leaves. During the growing season shiny blueberry is usually obscured by taller growing plants. Shiny blueberry produces large amounts of fruits sought after by small mammals, birds and other foragers. I see shiny blueberry growing along most trails hiked.

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gulf seashore haiku

Florida haiku, Gulf seashore by Kevin Songer...

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gulf's cool waters crash
drowning out all other sounds
but for seagull's cry
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Pond apple, Annona glabra.

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alligator grunts
gobbling down a couple
meh tasting green fruits
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Pond apple trees, like pop ash and black gum grow up out of the deep and dark swamp depths, producing apple-like fruits eaten by alligators and other wildlife. I would describe pond apple fruit’s taste as more ‘blah-bland’ than tasty, but some do make jellies and jams from the fruit. Pond apple provides habitat for wildlife, birds, orchids and bromeliads. Fort Myers' Six Mile Cypress boardwalk is a great place to experience pond apple up close.

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Candyroot, Polygala nana

September 25, 2019

Florida nature senryu - haiku for mid week, Candyroot, Polygala nana.

Florida Wildflower Poetry, Haiku, Senryu, Candyroot, Polygala nana by Kevin Songer

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I know I shouldn’t
pull plant and sniff candyroot,
but no one’s looking
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Candyroot calls to everyone who has ever pulled up the plant to experience the strong aromatic spicy scent of the roots. Interestingly, candyroot requires ants to collect the plant’s seeds for the food value of the seed's coating. Once underground, the seeds then germinate up through the ant's bed. Candyroot’s yellow flowers sit atop stalks rising from a basal rosette of succulent-like leaves.

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