When I find the words
I will write on this paper: a petal
Thin yet strong smooth but lined
With dreams and shimmers of fool’s gold
When I can’t find the words
I see their colors figments
Of passion saturated pigments
Of ecstatic reds coursing on fire
Against a forget-me-not sky
When words fail to explain
The unreasoned but so right emotion
I hear its structure in the flower
A balanced three part harmony
Quivering in the heat, laughing in the rain
When the bougainvillea blossoms fade
As they surely must after summer’s bliss
Of kisses and caresses without shade
They will tear and tumble in a thousand sighs
Like wordless and dying butterflies.
unbuttoned or undone 
I’ve never been a lover of poetry, but I enjoy spending a few minutes with your poems. Poetry really gets me to slow down and think. I can’t read it in a rush like I do everything else. So thanks for that. And although bougainvillea are often referred to in literature, I don’t think I’ve ever seen one — so thanks for the photo. I like what you’ve expressed here. Words do indeed fail.
LikeLike
Thank you. I really appreciate your comments. They are indeed beautiful flowers. The intensity and complexity of their color is positively enchanting.
LikeLike
This is just stunning, and yet the French version is immeasurably better, more achingly painfully wonderful.
But what is most impressive is that you did not translate directly, but reworded oh so beautifully.
Tu as commence en Francais?
LikeLike
Thank you so much. The idea came in French. The first draft in English. I tried to translate it, hated it. I went back to the idea, focused on meaning and rewrote it in French trying to stay faithful to the English structure. Now you know all my secrets 🙂
LikeLike
So, so beautiful
LikeLike
Thank you. I am glad you enjoyed it..
LikeLike
Pingback: Coming home | unbuttoned or undone
I wasn’t familiar with this vine/tree, so I looked it up. Like the rose, its stalk is thorny. An interesting contrast, no?
LikeLike
Very much so. Thank you for taking the time to comment. Always appreciated.
LikeLike