Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Russian olives and honeysuckle

I was surprised, and delighted, to suddenly see the bushes and small trees of honeysuckle and Russian olive as shapes of countries as outlined on maps. . . .

* * *

Step outside into the syrup
of humidity and sweetness

run along the path through grasses
and rising goldenrod

and around the meadow
you can tour Russian olives and

honeysuckle blooming together
side by side like countries on maps

Here is a pentagonal olive bush France
there a zeppelin of Turkey floating

above two seas then
Paraguay and Uruguay small

and spaced just right easy to miss
the profile of Chad reclining

in white honeysuckle
under Niger’s rosy face and look here

a perfectly stylized Russia
in pink honeysuckle

bordering a broad Russian-olive
white-blooming replica of the United States

while we run and chase two chickens
who stay ahead frantically on the path though

they and we could so easily cross
the path’s edge and disappear
into each other and the ocean of grass


8 comments:

  1. The last two days we have been experiencing the usual D.C.-area "syrup of humidity".

    Love the contrasting image conveyed with Russian olives and honeysuckle.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Maureen, DC is one of the hottest and most humid places I've ever been. Hope you get some relief. Here we had rain, and now it's cooler.

      Thanks for reading.

      Delete
  2. I love how this poem takes me down a beautiful visual path full of scents and splendour.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wish it were a 'syrup of humidity and sweetness' here, but the prospect is for yet another cold, wet and windy bank holiday weekend.

    Ah, that borderless, undifferentiated, yielding zone of the ocean of grass...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Robert, we have lost it here too; it got down to 0°C last night and will top out around 15 today. I'd like it somewhere in between, but there isn't a thing I can do about it. Our Memorial Weekend will be chilly, it seems.

      Thanks for reading.

      Delete
  4. What a visual treat, Ruth...especially watching you chase the chickens! :) Why does this make me smile so...! :)

    We were out-n-about for two hours this morning for our Open Harbor Day (lots of street vendors along the canal). It's chilly, around 50F, but gorgeously sunny!

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  5. All of my senses are alert and aware. I can somehow smell and taste the olives. Beautiful!!!

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All responses are welcome.