Jacaranda: Blue on Blue - John Bowen
One of the Top 40 submissions in our 2023 Urban Tree Festival writing competition.
Jacaranda: Blue on Blue
“Every week she passes
from the clinic in Kampala
to rest awhile in my arms
and marvel at the sky
through the veil of my bloom:
blue on blue.
The southern wind speaks
through my branches:
“Stay little sister. You have
many miles before home,
before Lake Victoria laps
at your feet like a puppy.
You carry medicine for mother.
Lay it down. I will stay guard.
Lay on my moss carpeted bole
and sleep, while I scatter
my trumpets to take home
as a gift.”
I have looked for her
for many days now. I know
the meaning of her absence.
Mother no longer has need
of medicine. The girl is spared her
ten-hour round journey.
She will walk to the shore,
and throw my blossom
into the lake of her ancestors,
in remembrance of a mother,
and for a childhood gone:
blue on blue.
I, Jacaranda,
offer shelter to the weary.
Many arms wrap round
my old, gnarled skin,
and many tears nourish
the sap in my veins.
Many stories of fear and loss
drop from little lips in the quiet
of my shade. Small faces press
against my wrinkled bark
for comfort only the inanimate
can give. I hear and learn much.
I take census of the sick and dying,
numbered by my pretty flowers,
strewn over the dust and rocks,
shearing off in the breeze,
or washed up on lake shores:
blue on blue.”
John Bowen
John Bowen is a retired social worker from South London, He has written poetry for many years and more recently has had several published.