Modern Love XXXVIII (Hibiscus' of Rome)
Walk towards the Coliseum
Without passing an ancient ruin
Follow Via Sistina, cross in front
Of Santa Maria Maggiore, by San Pietro
In Vincoli, come to via del Colosseo
Somber gigantic Coliseum, gaping apertures
pouring the long, pale light of a lonely moon
Mysterious southern moon, phantasm of twilight
Pointing to hungry Lion’s Den,
loggia of brave gladiators,
podium of the Caesars,
ascend a half-dilapidated staircase of stone
where the hibiscus
of flowering wombs
of red hearts
dwells
hibiscus’ red womb lips, open, each dawn
revealing throats of erect pink pistils’
with crowns of ochre thorns
(I am falling for a hibiscus,
For a lost seagull
For two pools of ochre revealing a soul
For soft hands which hold my mind
For a smile of endless dawns
For words, your words
I am falling for your words
of eternal promises of endless
Impermanence
A man, dreaming, awakened
by morning’s fecund dew
in your hibiscus’ womb
from a life of sleep)
Sad sparrows flutter, beak at crown of thorns
Pulling out of pistils’ head
Drops of orange blood on dark chests
Creating robins who take wing
creating a magenta sunrise
in tear filled clouds
above manhattan island
what sad joy to have everything
the way the hibiscus wants
taking my heart to the sky
giving me verses of other poems
and the odor of red,
love that scent,
of red petals creating
distant melancholy fields
where every gesture
bleeds to the sky
like a lonely heart
the hibiscus seeds flowers
in late afternoon and sighs,
creating possibilities of evening stars
in its tragic romantic acceptance
of solitude
what sad joy, to be like a hibiscus
full of red sadness,
saluting other flowers
(like Lancelot,
a romantic hero
in an earthly tomb)
which give her birth
and courage
showing her erect pistils’
her crown of thorns
her bleeding womb
What sad joy, each twilight evening
When the red petals of hibiscus’ womb
dance a wonder full closure
Silently sealing red lips,
Red hearts,
Plum mouths
green arms
someday, as a red womb
my soul shall, also,
close its redness
to singing parrots
on late afternoons
while a blue, serene sky
peals in joy
as this morning is pealing
in the red hibiscus' wombs
Someday,
all those who love
red hibiscus’ wombs,
shall close, also,
And all their dreams
shall be reborn
again,
as the red wombs of the hibiscus
are reborn each morning
in a daily ritual
of silent pain of blood
Someday,
my spirit will become
nostalgic
finally closing
like a hibiscus’ red flower
and be alone,
secure,
with no being,
no green leaves,
no blue sky,
no plum mouth,
no sad arms,
no red lips,
no red pistil
with ochre crown of thorns,
Then, my spirit shall dance
among shimmering quiet stars
seeking your brown eyes,
as all the hibiscus’s red wombs
remain, dancing,
singing the sad joy
of
coming and going
and discovery
.
Walk towards
somber Coliseum,
pale light of a lonely moon
trapped in endless twilights
of dawn and dusk
brave dwelling
of flowering red hearts
of you
of me
of us
poem by Liberatore Suffoletta
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Related quotes
Malaysiana - Vermilion Red Hibiscus (National Flower)
they line the streets
the nation's hospitality
flowing through vermillion red
petals so soft, gentle, and
graceful they bring on the
best smiles on people's faces
a camaraderie fills the
Malaysian air the auspicious
hibiscus breathes
its golden pistil steals into
people's hearts to powder
their senses with enchantments
surprises and irresistible delights
vermillion red hibiscus, they bow
and bow to tourists the moment
they touch down on Malaysian soil
- all the way to town
poem by John Tiong Chunghoo
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The Black Roses
In the garden of wild plants
I search for a Rose or a Lily.
The laugh of the plants get subdued
Then I look for a Jasmine or a Hibiscus.
Then I hear the sob of a flower a little away
With black petals all within her.
'Who are you all? ', I queried.
'You call us black roses', they said.
Unplucked, untouched and unfelt they remain
The black roses of a wild region!
'May I pluck one of you? ' I asked.
'You are welcome to liberate us all' they said.
Liberation! I am a bit confused,
Liberation of a flower is a novel idea
And I return with a few black roses
For I cant liberate them by plucking at a go.
The Rose fades, the Lily shrinks,
The Jasmine dries up and the Hibiscus falls.
But my mind says to me now for certain,
'These Black Roses will bloom in your gardens once'.
poem by M.d Dinesh Nair
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Red Hibiscus cheers
At dawn in an earthen pot;
By dusk, smile wiped off...
haiku by Mamta Agarwal
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Six
A red hibiscus that blooms
In the morning
Closes, wilts, in the afternoon,
You expect another one of its kind tomorrow,
A china rose,
Your night life,
At the outdoor café, sitting on light fabricated
Silver chairs, sipping tea, puffing smoke, sipping
Margarita, gazing
Slight stolen looks
At young handsome
Men rated per hour,
It is your policy of giving false names and wrong address,
They know
What you are doing,
They understand
Your needs & wants
For a fleeting night
A cure for an itch
Momentary piecemeal pleasures,
Allusions about a broken love of what used to be,
Illusions of what you could have been,
Momentary
Thoughts, momentary projections, when you make love with your catch, as you puff your smoke to
Confuse the ceiling with your gaze of momentary
Emptiness,
You are the first one
To leave, after paying the bills,
They always pretend asleep,
While naked,
As you leave his due on the side table,
You go home on shriveled hair,
Driving a red car,
Smokeless to the road,
Your cellphone rings,
Your son in his father’s house calls
“Mommy, I want to go home”
“I am driving, ’ you call him,
A flash of momentary happiness,
A momentary sadness,
Flip-flopping to your mind,
What are these really, these that meet your gaze for something that should have been permanent,
That red hibiscus, that blooms only for a day,
Is ephemeral,
Like stolen nights,
Like the way your child calls you, because father is always away,
“I am in Cebu for a week”, said many times over and over again,
Her stint for a night is ephemeral,
Electronic calls are ephemeral,
A happy home, her dream, was sort of, kinda like red hibiscus
Ephemeral too.
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
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Ephemeral
A red hibiscus that blooms
In the morning
Closes, wilts, in the afternoon,
You expect another one of its kind tomorrow,
A china rose,
Your night life,
At the outdoor café, sitting on light fabricated
Silver chairs, sipping tea, puffing smoke, sipping
Margarita, gazing
Slight stolen looks
At young handsome
Men rated per hour,
It is your policy of giving false names and wrong address,
They know
What you are doing,
They understand
Your needs & wants
For a fleeting night
A cure for an itch
Momentary piecemeal pleasures,
Allusions about a broken love of what used to be,
Illusions of what you could have been,
Momentary
Thoughts, momentary projections, when you make love with your catch, as you puff your smoke to
Confuse the ceiling with your gaze of momentary
Emptiness,
You are the first one
To leave, after paying the bills,
They always pretend asleep,
While naked,
As you leave his due on the side table,
You go home on shriveled hair,
Driving a red car,
Smokeless to the road,
Your celfon rings,
Your son in his father’s house calls
“Mommy, I want to go home”
“I am driving, ’ you call him,
A flash of momentary happiness,
A momentary sadness,
Flip-flopping to your mind,
What are these really, these that meet your gaze for something that should have been permanent,
That red hibiscus, that blooms only for a day,
Is ephemeral,
Like stolen nights,
Like the way your child calls you, because father is always away,
“I am in Cebu for a week”, said many times over and over again,
Her stint for a night is ephemeral,
Electronic calls are ephemeral,
A happy home, her dream, was sort of, kinda like red hibiscus
Ephemeral too.
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
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Modern Love LXX
Modern Love LXX
First chill of autumn
summer has
fallen out of love
cold wind descends
where yesterday
geraniums smiled
autumn breeze
flowers tremble
like aching hearts
winter is launched
a piece of memory -
green tea cermony!
Chilled autumn rain
marigolds dance
upon the meadow
Two cats dart
upon the last grass
of departing summer
cool fall evening
filling black sky
vast empty eternity
frogs laughter
points the way
to lonely saltmarsh
again that ancient
taste of freshly
broken heart
first autumn chill
under burning leaves
the necks of swans
morning prayers
mists lift free
from ocean waves
sun filled glass
fresh peaches taste
gong of morning
red hibiscus opens
in response
to warm stare
two seagull lovers
dip and soar
namaste to summer
morning dove sails
pointing at sky
liquid blue coos
full suspended sun
reflected on water
creating some ocean
buddha moon
toothless grin smile
window hinges
chamomile blossoms
entire garden
bottom dregs of cup
zazen morning twilight
crack in split mind
in exactly the right place
summer's footprint
in deep winter snow
leads to spring
as-ton-ish-ed
to find no one
there, here!
sad snowman
calmly awaiting
springs agony
First autumn chill
summer has
fallen out of love
poem by Liberatore Suffoletta
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My Hibiscus
Under the silken
October sun,
My hibiscus blossoms;
It's not my garden.
poem by Vinod Sharma
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The Discoverer Of Words
“Meniscus!
Hibiscus! ”
He chanted
again & again
when he was seven
delighted to discover
such words
words such as these!
Magic!
Sheer magic!
Meanwhile
pretending he’s a magician
he replaces the usual
hocus-pocus of abracadabra
with these
new discoveries.
Now, if only
he knew
what they mean?
poem by Dónall Dempsey
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Rainbow Dancer
O Rainbow
your soft glow
echoes
pure love, ‘tis glorious
Would I know
if again you show
tomorrow
amidst agonies of my sorrows?
O Rainbow
Cast your halo
below
where rivers of tears flow…
Where my anguish grows
and throws
a shadow
against the window
…………………………
My rainbow,
I know
you’re dancing somewhere
out there
Or maybe right here
on a beach under a palm tree
In front of me, or somewhere near
by the shores of this south seas
Maybe somewhere far away
over leaping waves of the sea
I can only dream, you so fair
with that hibiscus in your hair
I wish I could see
that perpetual rhapsody
and hear you singing endlessly
O sweet tunes of the seas
O Rainbow…
I am now only a shadow
of the secret that is our love
That is the promise of love
But in my heart’s mind so lonely
pining hopelessly, helplessly
Please dance back to me
My one and only…….
poem by Lyre Bleus
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Transparency
He wants-
to sort through the voices
he used to hear-
in his head,
to understand the vexed past.
He will make his bent arm
a bow and shoot
a moon between the doors.
Walk with a snake in grass
and feed his children.
Irreverence becomes an import
from the strangers.
When you were burning
inside, what was the need for the family
of periwinkles
to condole with jingles.
A timer device
explodes on your face.
A human bomb unfathers
a class of hibiscus.
poem by Satish Verma
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Life
Life is so beautiful
With butterflies and birds all around
Life is so wonderful
With flowers and trees on the ground
The hibiscus is so beautiful
They are so attractive and red
The cock and hen are wonderful
They have a crown upon their head
The jasmines are so beautiful
Day and night they spread their fragrance
The eagles are so wonderful
They are experts in vigilance
Life is so beautiful
With magnificent plants and trees
Life is so wonderful
You should help save it please
poem by Risha Ahmed
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Twentysix Eleven 26/11
My speech dead in my throat.
My words are stagnant in my pen.
My thoughts frenzied, deranged.
I am afraid to recollect scenes.
As day goes by, they add on lies.
Khans, Mushreffs, n’ Sardari’s,
Ghillanies still blood thirsty,
mongering war for Vulture’s feast.
Still they live in an era of Ghori,
Attack all around as Gazni.
Spitting bullets on innocents,
Terror (jihad) in name of religion.
Bled we lie on an arrow bed.
Composed we fold our hands.
Sad smile on face is not cowardice.
It is divine glow of our courage.
Blood decked, turned bloody flowers.
Hibiscus blooms in every heart.
With blood stains, sunrise everyday,
until perpetrators are punished.
A nation of make believers,
loves to dance on holocaust.
Their leaders spit hate on freedom,
Wearing a turban of indecency
We just wish to say a prayer for all,
By lighting a candle in our heart.
My tears flow incessant until then,
those fallen flowers are consecrated
____________________
poem by Satheesan Rangorath
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Carnality
I moan the departure
of death,
which was sitting in the golden
throne after the vision.
It had been a waging
war between religion and sex.
You want to align with the
sect devising the bared gestures.
Was it a personal vendetta
of the god who led the thirsty
years of man? It was a lidless
Hibiscus who will not stop crying.
poem by Satish Verma
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To One Unnamed II
A misty rain comes blowing with the wind from the east,
And wheels faintly thunder beyond Hibiscus Pool.
...Round the golden-toad lock, incense is creeping;
The jade tiger tells, on its cord, of water being drawn
A great lady once, from behind a screen, favoured a poor youth;
A fairy queen brought a bridal mat once for the ease of a prince and then vanished.
...Must human hearts blossom in spring, like all other flowers?
And of even this bright flame of love, shall there be only ashes?
poem by Li Shangyin
Submitted by Dan Costinaş
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In The Streams Of Your Eyes
what a life we’ve had
and have
time immeasurable in times so limited
and all the earth melts into a spot
my spotless joy grows gardens uncountable
woody hibiscus nestles gardenias
creation anew on wedding anniversary
the universe basks in your eyes
nature’s masterpiece swirls therein
the rainbow in dance adorns your brow
drums triumphant leap on your eyelids
anoint my soul
render me fluid
in the streams of your eyes
poem by Mark Nwagwu
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~Green~
The Ivy grows
It climbs the wall
As if reaching
For sunbeams
Of gentle Ole' Sol
Nuture O' nature
Garden Green
Chlorophil
Watered and
Fertilized
Exquisitly alive
Still
Hibiscus garden
Near the water
Fall
Dancing moisture
Dropps
Rainbow colour
Neath' Ole' Sol
Magnifience 'tis
Reigning O'er
Garden's Divine
Special touch
Divinity
God's very own
Design
poem by Theodora Onken
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The Condemned
Heart’s ache is getting worse everyday.
May be I go out in this brutal world
Of scuttling lies to seek the one
who left the body to trace the wound.
A red hibiscus enters my room from the window
and smiles at me.
Outside clumsy blasts are ripping apart
the tranquil day.
I wrench the emotions out of the poem
for the big mouthed kindness
which sprays the bullets.
Terror strikes suddenly on the swollen ankles
We do not know the cure.
No foreign hand will help,
No foreign face will smile.
I have to go for inward journey
My lips will kiss the condemned.
poem by Satish Verma
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Flowery Smiles
roses -
you give me that classic smile
orchids -
she gives me that delicate smile
mouth edges to a side
dimple so deep
violets -
the humble smiles
at the break of dawn
in the country roads
bougainvella -
children crowd near grandma
for her warm smile
colourful tales
of yesteryears
from her wonderful years
crocus - mona lisa's
subtle and soft smile
a thousand puzzles
behind our first look
at Leonardo's mysterious woman
chrysanthemums
the royalty's cheers
that spreads
from within to us
overwhemingly
sunflowers
his steady smile as he announces
his love and passion to the girl
hibiscus
tropical love
exotic laughters
of the lasses
in their love game
a walk through the garden
a walk through the brighter
side of humanity
the lane of angels and babies
smile, innocent smile
hearty smile, wondrous smile
oh god thanks for teaching
me all the ways to smile, to laugh
for all occasions
through all your blooms
i'll treasure them
like the butterflies
kiss and dance
with them each sunny day
till i remember all
their names and
details of their every smile
poem by John Tiong Chunghoo
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The color of my life
I remember…
Her pouty red lips, when she wouldn’t get her way
The blush in her cheeks when her hand grazed mine
The freshly picked hibiscus that clung in her hair
And the mosquito bite that she wouldn’t stop scratching
The red and white striped hat
Atop the cat of the book we used to read
The little red shoes she wore for Halloween
And the six little flames flickering on her birthday cake
The color of my young fingertips
When she squeezed my hand in hers
As the spots of blood leaked from her fallen knee
Flushing her tear stricken cheeks red
The color of the first Valentine card I gave to her
And the color of the last rose, I almost gave to her
The color of the burning sky
As we both silently waited for our parents to come
The bright red brake lights of her parent’s car
Leaving the school and me behind
The color of the balloon that slipped out of her hand
And floated out into the eternal blue sky
I remember… the red in my life
poem by Jeffrey Lee
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A Flower To Auroville Mother-6
Semparuthi(Hibiscus rosa-sinensis, Shoe-flower,
Japa Kusuma)
You cast yourself apart in a divine space..
An erythro-symbol of the Goddess of Genesis
You cast yourself apart in a caste special
Intercasted is innumerably opalizing visual
So crowned you are to crown us extravagant
So profound we feel in locks and eys relaxant
So renowned you are in our blood stream extreme
So inbound we are to your sanative regime, gleam
Japa, sway in gentle mode of scentless secret
Refining yourself unto Lord's feet in trust
Semparuthi, sway in gentle mode of silent secret
With Zephyr your leafed stalks too, we to benefit
poem by Indira Renganathan
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