agapanthus - african lily by Rg Gregory
[from agape (love); anthus (flower)]
you may not be willing to notice me i have an awkward sense of myself my name can be hard on the tongue i do not grow easily in places where the sun only fitfully appears
i've come a long way northwards gardens do not flatter my needs i am a shy sheltered plant - my leaves first come above the earth slowly serpenting about tasting the air
then my stalks flex tentatively skywards uncertain of grace - people walk by me curiously expecting dis- appointment when my flowers deign to curtsey boorishly into the light
they ignore i'm agape not eros my passion is a mute kind of longing a fund of good-feeling - i blend much more than possess (respect distance) bestow rather than demand
my flowers voice outwards - trumpets toned down to temper their height my scores are obliged to be gentle i use only circumspect colours love is better for not being showy
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