Flame Tree Time
Author: Elaine Savory
If you are buried under a flamboyant
tree, I said, your soul is lifted up
when it flowers. Everyone wants that.
Jean Rhys
that vivacious red
live
just like the lights and shades of active fires
& green
putting the other trees to shame
in these warm wet months
brings me
my love of the island
because when i see
flame tree blossoms
i see spirit:
how to persist
how to rise vivid
out of a dry land
& a severe beginning
they give
the rare touch
of love which has broken stones
of hardship
& come through
flame trees
are death reversed:
they stun your eyes
on those blue days
when the sea already makes you spin
they have the warmth
of people of dignified survival
those of the fight
& powerful emotion
who rise
within these speaking wreaths
and reach again
tell me
who can know flame trees
& not grow more brave?
Copyright © Elaine Savory