Lines and Curves, Nature Poetry

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:

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

Florida Nature Poetry & Art, Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea)

Florida nature poetry for Monday, Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea)

Florida Nature Poetry & Art, Purple Coneflower by Kevin Songer

...
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

...

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. 

Florida Nature Fun Poetry - Haiku for Thursday, Feathers, Wind and a Seagull

Florida Nature Fun Poetry - Haiku for Thursday, Feathers, Wind and a Seagull

Florida Haiku, Feather, Wind and Seagull by Kevin Songer

...
stout wind today
pull feather from the sand and

out pops a seagull
...

Florida Wildflower Haiku & Art, Lyre Leaf Sage, Salvia lyrata

Florida Wildflower Haiku & Art, Lyre Leaf Sage, Salvia lyrata

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

...

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.

Florida Wildflower Haiku & Nature Art, Seaside Oxeye Daisy, Borrichia frutescens

Florida Wildflower Haiku- short verse for Tuesday, Seaside Oxeye Daisy, Borrichia frutescens

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

…
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.

Florida Wildflower Art & Haiku (Senryu), Marsh Rose Gentian, Sabatia dodecandra

Florida Wildflower Art & Haiku (Senryu), Marsh Rose Gentian, Sabatia dodecandra

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

… 

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.

Florida haiku - senryu for first fall Saturday morning; Seaside goldenrod and Mangrove buckeye.

Florida haiku - senryu for first fall Saturday morning; Seaside goldenrod and Mangrove buckeye.

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

...
harvest goldenrod
mangrove buckeye both bargain,
anticipate first frost
...

Florida Nature Poetry, Senryu, Haiku, Paths of Lover's Key

Florida nature haiku - short verse for Tuesday, another verse about 'paths'.

Florida Nature Poetry, Haiku, Senryu, Lover's Key by Kevin Songer

...
today's trail was full
of ancient stardust turned to
sand, leaves and me
...
Lover's Key, Fort Myers, Florida

Florida Poetry, Bunche Beach, Mullet and Sand Gnats, Haiku, Senryu

Florida Nature Senryu for Monday, Sand Gnats and Bunche Beach,

Bunche Beach Flats at Sunset, Kevin Songer

...
gonna go fishing
bunche beach mullet schools
sand gnats chase us home
...

Haiku - Senryu Poetry, Florida Wildflowers, Purple False Foxglove, Agalinis purpurea

Florida Wildflower Poetry, False Foxglove Senryu, Agalinis purpurea

Florida Wildflower Haiku - Senryu Short Verse Art, False Foxglove by Kevin Songer

…
false foxglove marsh
ruby throated hummingbird charm
break sonic sound barrier
…

False foxglove's mauve blooms in mass covering a wet field are truly a spectacular sight in color and texture.  

False foxglove (Agalinis spp.) can be seen growing along roadsides, in cleared or disturbed lots and pastures or fields.  The plant prefers slightly damp, sandy soils.

 As with other trumpet shaped flowers, False foxglove’s blooms are sought out by hummingbirds.  Did you know a group of hummingbirds is called a 'charm'.  Charming!

Wednesday Native Plant & Wildflower Poetry - Haiku (Senryu), Smilax spp.

Wednesday Florida native plant & wildflower haiku (short verse), Smilax spp.

Florida Haiku, Wildflowers & Native Plant Art, Smilax spp.
by Kevin Songer

…
wily cat brier
scampers up tall long leaf pine
hold tight sharp tip thorns
…

Catbrier provides the hungry hiker a quick energizing snack with its tender, tasty vine tips. Some sauté the green vine ends in butter and say the flavor resembles asparagus. 

Catbrier’s vines are loaded with thorns, making the mature, thickly vining plant a veritable evergreen barrier and providing wildlife with protected communal habitat.

Though a bit on the rambling side, many Smilax species make great green roof and living wall plants as they are drought tolerant and grow well in full sun (think of the beach dunes where they grow lush and thick).

Tuesday Florida Native Plant & Wildflower Poetry, Purple Muhly Grass

Tuesday morning Florida native plant and wildflower haiku, Purple Muhly Grass

Florida Wildflower Poetry & Art, Purple Muhly grass, Mulenbergia spp. by Kevin Songer

…
sweetgrass baskets
muhly and pine needles weave
art of carrying rice
…

Purple muhly grass lines the median of many native plant landscaped downtown streets in Florida. During late summer the blooms form a cloud-like top to the grass in brilliant white, purple and pink shades. This grass gives important communal habitat to birds and small mammals and once established is extremely drought tolerant. Muhly grass has a long history of ethnobotanical uses by native Americans and early settlers.  Woven from plant leaf blades, early plantation workers carried rice and other goods up from the fields in muhly grass baskets and satchels.

Muhly grass is a great green roof plant choice too (think C4 photosynthesis).

Green Gardening Matters' post on muhly grass offers helpful hints on growing the grass as well as more of the interesting history of the plant.

Florida Native Plant Haiku, Gallberry (aka Inkberry), Ilex glabra for Monday

Gallberry-Inkberry, Ilex glabra

Gallberry (aka Inkberry) Ilex glabra by Kevin Songer

…

munch inkberry drupes

old turkey, possum and deer sport

smeared purple lips

…

Gallberry is also known as inkberry, and its dark black juice filled berries have been used by peoples over generations as ink. Birds and wildlife relish the berries for forage. Early settlers and indigenous peoples have made a tea similar to yaupon tea from gallberry’s leaves (see Appalachian tea). Interestingly, gallbladder is a holly like yaupon however gallberry’s leaves do not contain the significant amount of caffeine that yaupon leaves possess. Gallberry’s flowers attract bees from afar. Gallberry honey is highly prized by many.

Friday Wildflower Art & Short Verse, Rayless Sunflower, Helianthus radula

Wildflower Haiku, Rayless sunflower, Helianthus radula

Floria Wildflower Haiku Art, Rayless Sunflower, Helianthus radula by Kevin Songer

…
wet ditch oddity
deep maroon pyres reach high
swallowtails alight
...

Rayless sunflower is a bit of an oddity standing erect like black eyed Susans and echinacea but lacking petals. Rayless sunflower’s head is composed of a collection of small brown florets and the plant is a member of the Helianthus (sunflower) genus. I usually see rayless sunflower growing alongside of wet drainage ditches and along the margins of shallow sloping ponds. Despite a lack of petals, rayless sunflower attracts many different pollinators.  I find the plant’s stark structural appearance to be an interesting addition to a wet area landscape and an inspiration for nature art.

Wildflowers, Haiku and Impermanence (Change)

Always too much of a hurry I'm in.  The rush towards finish line and next project contributed largely in part to my aortic dissection (along with genetic tendencies).

Haiku and Wildflowers, both are forever evolving, Kevin Songer

Being present in the moment and Zen are practices I am still learning of, wanting to tap into their health benefits.  Health practitioners speak of cardiovascular, mental and life quality gains to be had through focusing on breathing and the here and now.

And so writing short verse opens doors leading to an understanding of life's meaning.  Being still and knowing the cosmos are magically penultimate. 

I use the word 'magically' to mean 'ever changing, not-constant and unknowable.

Life is refined daily through natural selection processes.  Nature does this.  Humans do this too with hybrid crops and domestic animals.

Perfection doesn't exist.  There is always an unfolding.

My haiku, or short verse also teaches me about constant change.  It is hard to imagine seventeen syllables would have any relation to infinity, eternity and constant change.  But they do.

First of all my wildflower short verse poems have deep roots.  I generally spend a couple days researching each plant's botany, medicinal uses, growing requirements, wildlife value and historical references.  This is after I've familiarized myself with the plant while out on my nature hikes.  I mean how can I seriously write about something I'm not truly familiar with?

Once I've assembled several pages of research scribble summaries the wildflower information can be distilled into a number of 'tags'.  Simply put 'tags' are phrases describing interesting wildflower thoughts.

Tags form the basis of each haiku line.  Some are suitable for five syllable lines, others for seven syllable patterns.

Once seventeen syllables (plus or minus) are compiled the natural selection process begins.  As I read and reread the short verse I am also constantly substituting and rearranging words to refine the one breath poetry into the meaning I am trying to convey.

When the haiku sounds 'ok' it is set aside until the next day.  Day two sees more changes as do all the days over the next weeks, months and years.

It is so interesting to see how short verse grows in beauty with time and reflection.  Like plant and wildflower natural selection, haiku's existence blooms in charm over time through refinement.

And like life, my haiku never reaches perfection.

Heraclitus' saying, 'there is nothing permanent but change', perfectly describes the birth, life and transformation of my haiku, wildflowers, life and the cosmos.

I can read a haiku written two years ago and experience the lightbulb moment where a new word or phrase seems to best convey meaning.  Then the next day another phrase appears to be more suitable.  Over time and with change the verse reads smoother and conveys vivid thoughts. 

Wildflowers (and all life) evolve in the same way.  One gaillardia seed may randomly produce a color array with more attraction qualities to pollinators.  With the seasons this hybrid is more suitable for continued existence.

But neither haiku nor wildflower stay as they are.  They always change.  And this is life.  And this is good because it is.

There is no permanence.  There is only change.

And so when I read my haiku, poetry and short verse I don't flinch when I see a need for change.

For this is my verse following the ways of the cosmos.

Florida Wildflower Haiku, Butterfly weed, Asclepias tuberosa

Florida wildflower haiku for Thursday; Butterflyweed, Asclepias tuberosa

Florida wildflower haiku, Butterfly Weed, Asclepias tuberosa by Kevin Songer

…
milkweeds toxin sap
eaten by Monarch larvae
hungry birds disdain
…

Butterfly weed (also known as 'milkweed') provides nectar for many pollinators, including butterflies and hummingbirds. Butterfly weed likes to grow in sandy soils and is a larval host plant for the Queen and Monarch butterflies. Interestingly, milkweed contains sap substances that are sometimes toxic to birds. Some butterflies have taken advantage of this toxicity by laying eggs on milkweed in order for the hungry larvae to ingest leaves full of these toxins, which fill their body with a taste predator birds disdain ultimately providing the larvae and young butterflies with much needed protection.

Florida Nature Poetry, Sea Oats

Florida native plant short verse for Wednesday. Sea oats, Uniola paniculata

Florida Nature Haiku, Sea Oats, Kevin Songer

…

mice, birds and bunnies
tasty seeds eat, summer grub
when no chips are around
…

Sea oats are a protected grass found growing along the Gulf and Atlantic seashores, primarily across the sand dunes. Sea oats provide important forage for beach mice and shorebirds as well as shelter. Their roots help stabilize dunes, preventing erosion. As a child I always possessed a strong desire to grab a handful of seeds off the plant and I’m not sure if this was because I was always told not to pick them or because it looked like a fun thing to do. Sea oats are some of the only native plants to grow in the harsh salt laden environment, close to water's edge and as such provide important communal and foraging habitat to wildlife.

Florida Short Verse Poetry, Winged Sumac

Winged sumac, Rhus copallinum

… 

pucker up those lips

Florida lemonade stand

sour cracker cool-aide 

…

Luna moth prefers winged sumac as a larval host plant, Kevin Songer, Florida Nature Art

Winged sumac is also known as Florida lemonade due to the sour berries found growing in clusters on the shrub.  Traditionally these berries, high in vitamin C, were used to make a tasty drink.  Late summer winged sumac turn a green roadside to flaming orange and red.  Luna moths use winged sumac as a larval host plant.  Winged sumac is a fast growing native shrub great for landscaping and wildlife habitat.

Florida Short Verse, Coontie, Zamia spp. #haiku

Zamia
...
cones and leaves nourish
rare atala larvae host,
butterfly bitters
...

Coontie, Zamia spp.; Florida Native plant and Wildflower Haiku by Kevin

So much to say about coontie, a marvelous Florida native cycad.  Look for more coontie short verse in my upcoming second volume of Florida Short Verse!

Toad flax and dock, Linaria canadensis and Rumex spp.

Toadflax and sorrel, Linaria canadensis and Rumex spp.

...
toad flax and sour weed
roadside kaleidoscope
mower comes too soon
...