Only after
our garden became a graveyard
strewn with shriveled leaves
did the white stem rise
from the hermetic bulb,
displaying five lavender petals:
Colchicum autumnale—
a brilliant contradiction,
out of phase, like an angel
strayed into Time, our world.
- "Midwinter Notes"
Lisel Mueller
Such a pretty display of pastel colors. They seem so ‘out of season.’ I had 2 bulbs, blooms for several years, no flowers now.
Really? My longest lived bulbs are about 15 years old…do you still get leaves coming up in the spring?
…just checked….no leaves, no flowers 😞
I had no idea that colchicine, a chemical used in plant breeding or medically for treating gout is derived from this plant. The same flower that inspires poetry helps to solve human problems!
I didn’t know that either. Poetry, I think, helps solve a lot that ails people…
Lovely!
Beautiful! Love that quote too – perfect. 😃
Thanks Cathy; it’s part of a large poem from a writer I have never heard of before. Turns out she was quite accomplished. It’s amazing and too easy to take for granted the ease with which you can ask a question in your browser address bar and have things pop up…I just wrote ‘poems about colchicum’ and bingo there it was.