Cheerleaders
Crepe-myrtle is summer’s answer
to lilacs in the spring
happy girls with red berry pom poms
shaking in the breeze
while ironweed purple
and goldenrod yellow
in September school colors
play the field
_______________
More dVerse Open Link poetry HERE.
August 9th, 2011 4:06 pm
I just saw one of these on a “Barn Charm” tour this morning. it was orange. unfamiliar with them. but way interested. looks a bit like an azalea. am I wrong?
August 9th, 2011 4:31 pm
They’re in the Loosestrife family. They don’t even grow that well in here in the mountains but grow great in nearby Roanoke, Blacksburg and the rest of the New River Valley.
August 9th, 2011 5:34 pm
nice…girls with pom poms is the perfect description…nice i grew up in roanoke…in lynchburg now…
August 9th, 2011 5:46 pm
There are no orange crape myrtles to my knowledge, just pink, white and purple shades. They’re native to warm sub-tropical regions and don’t do well in cold (Zone 7 and south in the US.) They do fine in this poem, however. I agree, they do look like cheerleaders, with their bright fat bunches of flowers waving. About the only thing still blooming here in this heat.
August 9th, 2011 6:42 pm
My yard is hedged with them but they don’t bloom this year; the heat has stolen their beauty. I love their blooms in good years, so delicate, so Asian. I think of them as living Haikus in my yard.
August 9th, 2011 8:08 pm
What a perfect image and poem to match. Love this!
August 9th, 2011 8:47 pm
I’m visiting my kids and it’s so warm here there is crepe myrtle every where in every color, it so gorgeous. Love the poem!
August 9th, 2011 9:00 pm
BEAUTIFUL Picture and WONDERFUL Poem!!
August 9th, 2011 9:11 pm
Lovely lines with this beautiful pic.
August 9th, 2011 10:26 pm
beautiful! I also have 3 crepe-myrtles in my yard too and I absolutely love them too. Fantastic poem too.
August 9th, 2011 11:15 pm
Your words are a pleasant entry to Autumn, football, cheerleaders, shouting crowds, and school books unopened–grin!
Nice blog. Thanks for your visit today.
PEACE!
August 9th, 2011 11:15 pm
The crepe myrtle is such a gentle, fragile blossom! Great photo!
August 10th, 2011 12:52 am
Lovely!
My entries:
Moms…Check Nyo
Yummy-as-can-be
August 10th, 2011 6:58 am
Nice — they definitely say summer!
August 10th, 2011 7:28 am
miss these from my days in the south. we have a variety that grows here, but it doesn’t bloom until mid to late august which means we get about 4-5 weeks of bloom, and it is over. even then, it is not in profuse blooms like they are in GA. one is in full bloom over my mother’s grave.
very pretty image!
August 10th, 2011 8:31 am
I’ve always loved the name “crepe myrtle” but didn’t know what it looked like–apt name, and beautiful photo.
August 10th, 2011 8:43 am
I love both your poem and your picture, Colleen.
August 10th, 2011 11:51 am
I live at 10,000 feet in the mountains of Colorado so we only have wildflowers. Your poem made me miss all the flowers I met living in the Blue Ridge Mountains in North Carolina. Wonderful description and verse, thank you. BTW I posted a reading of my poem, thank you for the request http://chromapoesy.com/2011/08/05/brutality-between-the-lines/
August 10th, 2011 1:40 pm
A great poem. Beautiful imagery drew me into that peaceful garden.
August 10th, 2011 5:05 pm
Perfectly drawn metaphor! ~ Rose
August 10th, 2011 7:18 pm
A perfect image and poem…lovely!
August 11th, 2011 8:13 am
Yes, P-e-r-f-e-c-t!