The Flowers
for Julian
Gifted to me when they were just tightly – wound buds..
I placed them in water, so lovingly, in my finest vase.
Sleeping in their pods, they had no idea, still so unaware,
that they had traveled over mountains, had come such a long way.
I loved them from the very start, as they made me ponder
what colors and shapes, and what flowers did they hold inside?
As they stood tall and proud in their freshly- poured water
All was possible, endless potential because they were alive.
I had hope they would open wide on the night of Christmas Eve,
but they had their own time, their clock just ticked for them.
Then two days later, I awoke to see a chosen few, blushing pink
Only two, opening with the dawn, standing proud upon their stems.
Their birth made me smile wide, so pink,” Ah there you are!”
Now I bet the others will all come and join you in this dance…
But they waited; some were shy and took a few more days,
until Saturday, when almost all of them awoke by chance.
Those were their glory days, brightening up my room and making us smile.
Proud and pink and beautiful, even their green leaves had an extra shine.
Everyone who saw them, kissed them with their eyes, saying “MashAllah”
They stayed this way for five whole days, a splash of color from the Divine.
I am a poet, so the end days of these flowers were felt so deeply.
They started losing their lives on the last night, in the last year of such strife.
I couldn’t help myself, how they made me cry: I sobbed as their petals fell…
Not for the loss of the flowers, but for the reminder, that this is Life.
Karima Hoisan
January 1, 2021
Costa Rica
Digital Rabbit Hole 
Ah, you see poetry everywhere; happy and sad, poignant and deep.
I love the last picture completing the circle.
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Yes, the Circle of Life..the Cosmic Loop:) Thank you Dale for appreciating this poet and all her sensitivity:):) Happy New Year…we are still in the buds of 2021:)
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Oh, I so love how you work that all the way back to the beginning, as in the beginning is the end, and in the end is the seed of the beginning. Lovely, Karima. Just lovely. 🙏😊❤️
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Thank you so much Jeff, I was lucky I took pictures in all their stages..maybe my muse was thinking about writing this poem, before I was aware of it::) It’s true last night, seeing them, falling apart, petals dropping every minute, made me cry..such a metaphoric end to this hard year for so many. 🙏🌺
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You’re welcome, Karima. Always. Ah, yes, metaphorical truth. ❤️ Be well, my dear, friend. 🙏
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gorgeous!
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Ohh thank you so much:):) Happy New Year to you!
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🙂
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Beautiful ❤❤❤❤❤
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Thank you for commenting Shaunak!
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Happy 2021 ♥️
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Thank you Ivana..a very happy and good year for you in 2021
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Thanks so much Karima 🥰
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Happy New Year!🎉
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And a happy and safe and healthy one for you too Ishita!
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Such a nice poem. The complexity is the beauty of such poems. I am a great fan of your works and try to keep up as much as I can. I want to invite you as a guest blogger on my blog. I hope you consider this request. Thank you
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Thank you so much Anitaannabel for your comment and reading my poems. I give you permission to use any poem on my site, just give attribution, that I am the author and send me a link please. I am honored you would like a poem of mine on your blog:) May your New Year be a good one in 2021
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Really?
Thats great. I would definitely give you feedbacks❤
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What a beautiful, tender post, Karima. Those flowers looked absolutely gorgeous… And I love that you followed them on the journey of their life and then shared this with us. It was such a graceful read. Yes I agree, flowers bloom to one day wither away, but the feelings they impart throughout their time,now that is something to really appreciate and respect. Stay blessed, Habibti! Have a lovely day. Lots of love and hugs to you. 🤗🤗🤗❤️❤️❤️💕💕💐💐
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Aww thank you Diana…my son gave them to me 4 days before Christmas..It was a total journey I took with them, and I realized, I had to share it.My sentimentality is pretty obvious in this poem/story, but really, so fitting they ended on the last night of the year. Thank you always for your understanding and enjoyment of my work…You know it’s very mutual:):) I must catch up on your blog..You started 2021 with a bang and a creative streak….Don’t stop:):) ❤️🤗🙏🌺💐🌹🌸⭐️
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Beautiful work
Hi dear
Would be glad if you follow my blog
Will follow your page too
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Thank you so much and I will visit your blog soon!
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What a strong metaphor/visual and written story-poem. That’s a great way of looking at existence: “All was possible, endless potential because they were alive”.
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Thank you Benjamin..my son, Julian brought them to me and from the start I felt they were very special..I’m glad I took a few pictures along their timeline…short as it was, but they gave joy to all:)
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You’re welcome. That’s very sweet of him. Lovely pictures. A lovely memory. Those are great flowers, super beautiful.
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*tears*
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🤗
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Beautiful..
These are lilies no? How long do the petals take to open?
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Yes they are Lirios in Spanish.. Lilies in English and they took almost 6 days to begin to open..It was was really worth the wait..They stayed open fully and beautiful for another 5 days.:)
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😲Wow! Now I want them
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You know we grow flowers *like these, for export in the mountains, the cooler climate..I think they go to mostly the USA and Europe…but maybe you will see them someday, in your country too:):)
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How beautiful and poignant your words are habeebity, such beautiful pink flowers, loved how they must have filled your room with light of love and hope as they have had bloomed and their downfall, oh… True, such is life, I felt a thud in my heart as I read your last line
Not for the loss of flowers, but for the reminder, that this is life…
We are so fragile yet we bloom to our fullest and day by day then we start to shed ourselves.. I sometimes wonder why Allah created us, if we have to perish..
Then I think, who am I to ask, just live what I got,at least I got to live this life. 😊
Lots of love, hugs UmJulian ❤️❤️🤗🤗🤗
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Aww UmAzar, your very sensitive friend, was crying her eyes out when the fireworks were going off., because as the clock was chiming, the petals were falling on the table top and it hit me so hard on many levels. ” I sometimes wonder why Allah created us, if we have to perish.” Ohh I have had this thought, but if we believe Death is not the end but a door, then it gives us an answer:) I also live as you do, accepting my place in the universe and trusting God always knows best, and believing in His compassion and mercy.. I am grateful to have been alive and gotten this far too..:) Hugs Habeebity.. love your comments and your wonderful friendship!! ❤️🙏🤗🌺🌹🌸💐
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Oh habeebity, I too am like that, anything can make me cry as I relate it to life many a times, I can so feel you ❤️❤️❤️ Indeed death is not the end and I agree with your answer, this life here is just our test and the exam will decide where will we be placed, oh that scares me a lot!! May Allah bless everyone of us and keep us always on the righteous path.
Hugs to you too and love always 🥰💕💝❤️🤗🤗 I so respect and love you Habeebity, grateful to have met you 💝
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Sorry I am a bit late responding to your wonderful comment..my laptop woke up going crazy…only wanting to write “h’s” hehe…. lines and lines of them :):) I had to take it in for a cleaning, and just got it back tonight. Yes the flowers always remind me of the fragile but beautiful qualities that make up Life and I am not surprised you would cry over flowers too because….well, you’re a poet with a pondering, sensitive mind.. Gives you a big HUG.🤗..life can have more tears if you are ,,ahhh but I wouldn’t change being a poet for anything:):) I can’t wait to read what the new year will bring for you:):) Habeebity!! Write!!
🙏❤️🌈🌴🌟❤️🌹🌼
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Habeebity, not at all a problem, please don’t say sorry 🤗❤️ yeah we poets are such sensitive souls 💕 I can’t too dear, to write your thoughts is such a bliss. 😊 Have written some, but confused what to post next 😀 JazakAllah khair my dear, stay blessed ❤️❤️❤️🤗🤗🤗🤗
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Beautiful.
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Thank you:) and welcome to my blog 🌺💐🌸
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Flowers delight us because of their beauty and at the same time remind us of ours
transience.
They all live fast and pass quickly, but in their exuberant splendor they are not selfish or arrogant. On the contrary, in order to complete this circle of life, they share what they have been given with other creatures like bees, butterflies and hummingbirds.
Everything is connected in a miraculous way.
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Such a beautiful profound comment Nat..and very true! They are a reminder of beauty and transience and they are part of Nature’s plan and also a comfort and a joy when we receive them. Most flowers we can’t eat, but nonethess we plant them, just to enjoy them in all their stages,, Thank you for sharing your thoughts!! Hugs!
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Deeply moved Karima. The truth of truths. That this is life. Some have wider spans, others narrower, but we all go through the same motions. It was so beautifully presented. Loved the pictures. Applause for such genuine sentiments…👏👏 🍀🍀🍀
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Thank you my dear friend, and it was made even more poignant by the fact that their petals began falling (and so quickly) on New Year’s Eve…I wept because I felt it as a reminder as I said, of the short cycle of our lives, but also I wept with deep gratitude, that this gift was given for me to see it, for what it really is..and on the last day of the year, a year that has been so hard to accept for all of the human race/ It brought me peace, after my tears were shed., and it brought me to acceptance..and that is when I could write this poem. Blessings and all good things for you Sundaram.. thank you for these beautiful comments. 🙏❤️🤗
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Nice blog
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Thank you Shristy🙏
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Your photos follow the short life of these beautiful flowers. The depth at which you observe and write has never been more acute!
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You know Hoyt, I had no (conscious) idea that I would write a poem to these flowers, but I took pictures along the way,,,just because:) Thank you so much for diving into the depth of this one…that’s how deeply I felt , when I realized why I was really crying:)
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