I'm excited to announce another poetry collection! This one was especially exciting to research and learn about. I became very interested in flowers and their development and started thinking about the conditions of life and the way we as people grow like flowers and our conditions both create and oppose our growth. From this came "Blooms and Blossoms."
This series takes a look at the journey flowers take to bloom and the beautiful spreads they create, focusing on the flowers found on the islands of Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Japan, as well as an impressive mushroom and a tree from the latter . Through the series I explore the conditions and surroundings of development as people like flowers change, grow, and blossom.
From the Cherry Blossoms and Plum Blossoms, to the wide swaths of Orchids in Asia, it was exciting to learn about how flowers and nature moves through change so elegantly, and with a lot of strength.
Orchids are very popular in Asia and many are grown in the wilderness in Taiwan where they produce interesting combinations and unique flowers. They are also filled with imagery and symbolism in many cultures like the Hong Kong Orchid Tree, which I write about in the fourth poem.
After a lot of changes in my personal life, it was also exciting to see there was even a Mushroom, that I learned about here in Austin- where I recently moved to- that only exists here and in Japan. This mushroom, the "Texas Star" also proved to be a great source of inspiration for the poem on the importance of revival and the death and life cycle in nature since dead matter is not only present but essential in creating new life!
Then came the Singapore Graveyard Flower, which is a strong scented flower that is placed in graveyards of Singapore, this flower is in constant regeneration as it is consistently sprouting anew.
I finished the series with one of my favorite trees, the Lacquer Tree. This tree is the source of the lacquer finishes you see on many pieces of art but goes through an intense production process. From its stripping of bark to the way the sap is able to go through a chemical transformation, change shape and harden, I thought it was a great way to end the series.
Below is the first poem! You can read the full collection here
Meihua / Ume (梅花 | Plum Blossom)
Ice Off
Ice On
False springs leading not to water but a renewed thawing period
A second freeze
Up through the Yangtze and into Nara Japan
Baika parties run amok
The original Hanas for this Hanami
The heralding of spring
Windy woodsy branches painted a deep dark brown
Ice filtering them creating glossy caramel hues
Standing strong at the gates of
きもん | Omote-Kimon
Flowering without leaves means
Trusting in advance
What will only make sense in reverse.