Black Orchid

One of the most attractive things about the flowers is their beautiful reserve. - Thoreau

in the ambient light of an inebriated, crescent moon

hidden amongst the unkempt wildness of existence

peering through the stagnation of nuanced night

speaking volumes in the stinging roar of solitude

transcending the paramount passage of time

both innocence and guilt born as fraternal twins

the gestation of dual embryos of creation

hear my feral cry

see me and ask why

inhale my essence

imbibe my moist obscenity

touch the smooth petals of ferrous bosoms

i am contradiction incarnate

i am darkness

i am everything hidden

all things felt in the percussion of life and passion

titillating and taboo

i am

black orchid

Author's Note

"If the day and night are such that you greet them with joy, and life emits a fragrance like flowers and sweet-scented herbs, is more elastic, more starry, more immortal - that is your success." - Thoreau

Reviews

[Chris Shaw]

Orchids are exquisite. I have never come across a black orchid though. White ones, a sign of purity, black a sign of all that is dark and yet both are a work of art in their own right. Love the contrast that comes across here Pete and your poetic expression and choice of words is first rate. What a great word taboo is. It conjures up all that is no, no. All that is evil. Much enjoyed. A nature poem with a difference.

Chris

[Pete]

aren't they though - so mysterious and elegant. i think i saw some once being grown in a hothouse in hawaii on a vacation. nature is just so telling, irresistable. thanks for sharing chris ... :)

[Chris Shaw]

I love them. My grandson bought me a purple one for Christmas. It is in a glass dome, embedded in moss and it has little lights that enhance its beauty at night :)

[Pete]

wow, purple and with lights too. lucky you. the perfect gift for a flower lady ... :)

[Chris Shaw]

............ :))

[lightsong]

Orchids for me are prime, primal and mysterious, they hold the essence of the ancient existence in them, as I've seen that You too feel that way, I once used the Orchid on my poem but not like this distinguish one, You write with care, each sentence and word used specifically because You know why You are using them,

"i am darkness
i am everything hidden"

it's like I'm the white and black, the known and unknown, the strong dark and the soft flower, You just choose what is the side You want to dive within, maybe even both. unique write my friend.

[Pete]

this is how i felt the one and only time that i saw them. yes, they are so primal and mysterious. i can see that you clearly echo my feelings on them. you've grasped exactly what i was striving to say. thank you for sharing your deep thoughts ... :)

[lightsong]

You are welcome my friend, happy we could connect through your poem.

[Einstein Noodle]

black orchids and nightshade says i! tho if i ever saw a black orchid i don't think i could see the evil in it .. much too rare and wondrous ... but i like how your poem uses it to point out the dichotomy of man .. i especially like your drunken crescent moon! falling over drunk she is at times eh!? :) i think your note from your good friend Thoreau is spot on with your poem .. the black orchid reveals that dichotomy within itself i guess .. and to accept good with bad .. night with day .. greeting both with joy and honesty .. i think is a key to wholeness ob being .. we are both after all .. no matter attempts to reject it ..
E.

[Pete]

as i was telling chris, my one and only experience seeing them was in a hothouse in hawaii. it felt strange - giving rise to different feelings. i love your take on this. you are spot-on with what i was thinking when i wrote it. there is good and bad and sometimes we see what we want to see. sometimes bad isn't even really bad, just different to us. yes, thoreau sure had it right as do you ... :)