Tropical October
Every day
the purple rain petunias in my garden
will fall by 5pm to be reborn by morning.
Rain, sun, rain
every day.
My banana plant will fan new daily greens.
The dolphins flipping in the distance
are the only changing things that tell me
it’s not summer anymore.
Warm and clean the water, the beaches —
no skeletons awash along the shore,
as autumn’s melancholy longing’s
only in my soul.
The stapled plastic, rust-orange leaves
at harvest festival don’t fool me
when my pen can only harvest truth
and death is not a metaphor
in tropical October.
Note: It took me a while to realize Mexican petunias (also known as purple showers) shed their blooms each evening to re-bloom every morning. I was so confused by all of the blooms on the ground.
Introducing myself to the ghost of Keats
Like you,
I’m a hopeless romantic born on Halloween
believing — really wanting to believe in magic.
Like the year that I turned ten
and thought that meant
I would be different.
The only year I wasn’t interested in
pink, princessing sequins.
No, that year I’d be a witch
(trick-or-treat, please give me darkness).
Give me black cats, transformations
in the backyard
running and jumping on my broomstick
believing —
really wanting to believe
that I was meant to fly.
Photos taken at Kula Farms, Maui.
Beautiful as always Katy! Oh I also love Keats, how fabulous to share a birthday with him 💜 I loved your chat with his ghost 😉
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Thank you so much 🥰 I always appreciate your sweet comments 💗Glad you liked the brief Keats shoutout ha!
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Happy Birthday, Katy! Enjoy your tropical autumn. Your poem and pictures are beautiful.
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Thank you so much! So glad you enjoyed the post 🎃Hope you are doing well 🍂
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I loved the photos and the poetry dear Katy and happy birthday, Thank you for sharing your work.
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Thank you so much, John 😊 I really appreciate your comments and sharing. Hope you are having a lovely fall season 🍁🍂
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I am doing well dear Katy and I hope, you and the family are having some fun. And you are welcome.
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Reblogged this on johncoyote and commented:
Wonderful poetry by a talented writer.
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Beautiful.
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Thanks so much, Nico ☺️
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🙂🌏🌊
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Love the lines “death is not a metaphor / in tropical October.” I bet Christmas is especially odd for you given all the associated winter imagery.
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Thank you! I’m glad you liked it. I built the poem around those lines 😊 Yes, I expect Christmas time will be especially odd for me ha!
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this is such elegance, beautiful photos, deeply impressive work!!
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Thank you so much, Mihran 😊 I really appreciate your reading and thoughtful comment.
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Beautiful! You’ve really painted a picture of the season, of autumn, especially with those stunning photographs! Loved it Katy! And Happy Birthday to you, being that it is getting closer and closer to your day!
All the best,
F.
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Thank you so much, Francisco! I really appreciate your words and the sweet birthday wish 😊 Hope you are having a lovely autumn season 🍁
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My pleasure Katy, it is a lovely autumn here in Spain
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These beautiful pics are from Hawaï, too?
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Thank you so much! Yes, they are from Hawaii 🏝
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Wonderful!
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Thank you! 😊
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