OH. OH. OH. A hot pink epiphilium blossom tinged with neon? I die.
A bloom at least 9 or 10 inches across. She only blooms once a year. One flouncy exclamation mark of a bloom. I felt bad for not pulling up a chair and gazing into the face of this flower the entire 48 hours of her existence. 
This is not Photoshop. This is real life. I didn't adjust a thing, not even the contrast. Pure flower. 
Pure pink-skirted loveliness. I crept outside last night, down the dark driveway, across the walkway, in my nightgown, with my flashlight, for one more look. When the Halley's Comet of flowers puts on a show you really want to be there.
But wait! There's one more thing… my baby smoke tree shot from underneath, straight up into the grey canopy of sky. Click, then click again if you want to move in closer.
AND. As if all that weren't enough, my sister Dottie sent me a poem. We Moss sisters like to deal poems to each other like hands of cards. This was a royal flush.
LOVE AFTER LOVE
The time will come
when, with elation,
you will greet yourself arriving
at your own door, in your own mirror,
and each will smile at the other's welcome,
and say, sit here. Eat.
You will love again the stranger who was your self.
Give wine. Give bread. Give back your heart
to itself, to the stranger who has loved you
all your life, whom you ignored
for another, who knows you by heart.
Take down the love letters from the bookshelf,
the photographs, the desperate notes,
peel your own image from the mirror.
Sit. Feast on your life.
-Derek Walcott
that’s one of my all-time favorite poems…I felt like you must have when your flower bloomed when I discovered it for the first time. I immediately bought his collected poems just to have a copy of it.
I don’t know Derek Wolcott yet, but I can guarantee that I’ll be mailing a fan letter, buying a book (if he has one) and thanking YOU and the Moss Sisters for taking the job of Poem Seekers. You all deserve a promotion.
Oh that poem is divine. I’m sending it to myself at work so it’s the first thing I read tomorrow.
Thanks!
We never feast enough on our own worthiness, do we? What a lovely bit of poem. Makes me want to put a mirror by my door. The words have helped to ease this unsettled feeling I have been having….
Well, how odd. I came back today and noticed the answer to my question about your camera, right below the new photo of you…. Was it always there, or did I just notice it. This will be a mystery, but in any case my question is answered. Wouldn’t it be great if all answers appeared so magically?
the flower ah…it does not seem fair she blooms once a year…stingy gal!! it’s beautiful!
I come to you and your blog when I have a bad day as I know you will fill me up with good stuff. And tonight? I feasted! Between the amazing flower for starters, the architectural smoke tree for the main course and the delightful poem for dessert, I am overflowing with good things to end my not-so-great day. A thousand thank yous, Mary Ann.
What a gorgeous flower, but the smoke tree is just as stunning, in a quietly, understated, elegant way. Thanks once again for the visual and mental gifts.
Sigh…..were I to be a scarlot harlot, proudly displaying my wanton ways, I would want to be this flower. This very one. And then, when I had seen the folly of my ways, I’d find righteous enlightenment in the transformation to the chocolateblush decadence in your previous post. Yes…to be a sensual flower would be a divine and delicious sin, indeed. I would forgive you for burning me at the stake even….if you were to burn me in the shadow of the smoke bush.
How lucky are we who have eyes to see such beauty?!?! It makes the blood pulsing through my veins feel cooling. Thank you for sharing!!!
That flower is just too beautiful for words! It looks like it’s glowing. Mother Nature sure knows how to get our attention, doesn’t she?!
Swimming in the beauty of your post. Your mind is a beautiful thing. Thank your for sharing it with the rest of us. I think of your blog as guru lessons.
You know who loves you, baby.
a royal flush indeed! thanks for sharing it.
So much beauty. Thank you for sharing.
V-Grrrl
I’m so glad I checked your blog at this early hour of the morning. A shot of hot pink and the shocking beauty of nature, PLUS a beautiful poem is the way to start the day!
I even double clicked on the smoke bush photo to get everything I could.
On a practical note: what camera do you use, extra lenses? It’s time I get a new one, but I’ve been known to put off buying new electronic equipment just because I can’t make a choice and what I have still works.
Have a neon pink day.
feasting on life with a flouncy exclamation of a bloom as our example! smooches
Is it tedious that I keep exclaiming about your eye? I see you in a safari hat continuously directing our gaze to points (often very small points) of great interest. We luck out with you as a guide.
Wow.
The red! The fuchsia! The intensity! The stamens! The pistil! The bokeh in that first shot!
Wow.
Love the poem, too.
Some days it is best to just watch nature…. yesterday was a bad day with my stencils and paint… everything came out ugly… and it went in the trash… Do you ever have such a day???
Holy cow! Thank you for noticing and sharing these things! What a “reaching” flower, glorious.
this flower, this poem… both stunning…
it’s all and the only one we can know
if we try!