Fruitless Passion
January 20, 2011
The Big Tent Poetry prompt this week was about fruit, or food. A few years ago I planted a passionfruit vine in a pot on my balcony. It grew nicely, and every year it flowers happily but never produces fruit. Not enough bees I guess!
It’s sad to watch as the beautiful blossoms wither up and drop to the ground.
January 20, 2011 at 10:26 am
Love it! There is something very sad about watching the tendrils of a plant, unsupported, reach out for something to cling to, and finding nothing – great analagy for some people who are ‘desperate to find someone to hold on to’. I think you can help pollinate a passion fruit using a paint brush (or some such thing) and gently brush over the flowers and onto the other flowers – may have that wrong, you might want to google it – haha.
January 20, 2011 at 6:21 pm
Thanks, Gabrielle; I will indeed do some googling, that sounds like a great idea. I’ll wear stripy bee-socks for extra luck in the process :)
January 21, 2011 at 5:31 pm
Fascinating. I shall look with new eyes at the vines crawling over the bank at the back of the house.
January 21, 2011 at 8:08 pm
I hope they’re not as sad as mine :)
January 21, 2011 at 9:17 pm
I never thought of plants as sad before. A clever poem.
January 22, 2011 at 5:31 pm
Maybe I’m just projecting because I didn’t get any passionfruits ;)
January 21, 2011 at 9:34 pm
Hi Joanne -
Very creative use of the prompt. I especially liked “soak in the unknown” and the “fake smile.”
enjoyed, sarah
January 22, 2011 at 5:32 pm
Thanks Sarah!
January 22, 2011 at 12:00 am
This is so good! I love the last line “shriveling as they leap to the concrete below” I like the images your poem creates, along with the emotional attributes of the fruit!
January 22, 2011 at 5:32 pm
Thanks, Jeanne :)
January 22, 2011 at 12:48 am
Wow- quite an analogy… very impressive!
January 22, 2011 at 5:33 pm
Thank you!
January 22, 2011 at 2:28 am
Joanne, a beautiful poem. You have given her such personality, excellent use of the prompt.
January 22, 2011 at 5:33 pm
Thanks Pamela :)
January 22, 2011 at 3:11 am
Wow! Now this is good. Loaded with innuendos, metaphors, and outright life turbidity. The flow and progression of your words are forthright and compelling. There is so much that has been read into the Passion Fruit. I believe you have captured this particular vines essence. May she just needs a boy friend. I really enjoyed reading this, several times.
Regards,
Don
January 22, 2011 at 5:37 pm
Thanks Don; I always love your feedback ;)
January 22, 2011 at 5:38 am
A stellar piece!
January 22, 2011 at 5:37 pm
Thank you Tumblewords!
January 22, 2011 at 7:27 am
Incredible analogy, so creative and profound.
Elizabeth
January 22, 2011 at 5:38 pm
Thanks, Elizabeth :)
January 22, 2011 at 7:55 am
best face, fake, unhappiness as poison …. great metaphors in this! you capture the tragedy very well.
January 22, 2011 at 5:39 pm
Thanks Carolee!
January 22, 2011 at 3:52 pm
I like where this started and ended up, so wonderful. Sad, but well done…
January 22, 2011 at 5:40 pm
Thanks Mark :)
January 22, 2011 at 10:03 pm
This is so beautiful and equally so sad. =( Did you take the photo yourself?! It’s also amazing! =)
I like passion fruit a lot, I have never seen the flower actually, but they say it is beautiful. Do you have many types of flowers around your house? We have sunflowers now and then, they are my favorite, but we have many Tibouchinas, which are my mom’s fave.
=)
Thanks for your visit and lovely comment on my blog.
Take care and keep smiling. =*
January 23, 2011 at 7:59 am
Thanks, Kenia. My husband actually took this shot, but most of the other photos on my blog are mine.
We live in a block of units so there isn’t much in the way of flowers, though I think there are some azaleas out by the driveway.
January 22, 2011 at 11:46 pm
Great use of the prompt, from the clever title on.
January 23, 2011 at 7:59 am
Thanks Twitches!
January 23, 2011 at 12:42 am
Poor thing. Perhaps she’s like clematis, and needs to keep her toes cooler, or maybe she needs a friend. When we moved here, they were growing wild in the chain link fence with the honeysuckle. Amazing flowers
January 23, 2011 at 8:07 am
They are beautiful flowers indeed. Thanks for your comment, b_y :)
January 23, 2011 at 4:36 am
This is simply beautiful and has an aching (in a good way) quality to it.
January 23, 2011 at 8:08 am
Thanks, Erin :)
January 24, 2011 at 1:38 pm
Oh, it’s glorious. One of my favorite flowers, brought to new attention. Gorgeous in decay.
January 28, 2011 at 7:55 pm
Thanks Deb!