As always, my garden has been a great source of joy and comfort to me this summer. I highly recommend spending the last days of summer lingering in your garden, or any garden, and looking closely.
Close Reading in the Garden
In the midst of garden glory
one zinnia blazes gold
limned by garden green
Its single stalk, leaf-laden,
supports the showcase blossom
Spiraling taffeta whorl
draws the eye inward
to dawning curled petals
a whimsy of bright suns
circling the heart of it all
hidden treasure for the attentive
©Molly Hogan, draft
This week’s Poetry Friday Roundup is hosted by Christie at Wondering and Wandering. She’s sharing a beautiful community poem about what poetry is, created by lines contributed by her poetry workshop participants and the Poetry Friday community. I, sadly, didn’t manage to get my ducks in a row in time to participate, but was wowed by the final product. Be sure to check it out!
Nix the comfort zone 
My first visit to Poetry Friday, I’m swept in by your language! You capture my fascination with the fascinating but so often unexplored middle of flowers. I love “limned”, “spiraling”, “dawning” and the “whimsy of bright suns”!
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Welcome to PF! It’s a wonderful place to linger! Thanks so much for stopping by and commenting. I’m off to find your post!
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Dear Molly, I do love that zinnia’s secret garden. Beautiful! xo
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Zinnias are such happy flowers!
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Molly, not only do your flowers bring happiness with their vivid colors but your poem provides another blossom of wonderful poetry.
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Thanks, Carol. Summer blossoms bring me such joy!
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Those flowers are vibrant with a capital V. Masterful photography.
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I love seeing the inner details, which I’d never noticed until the past year or so. The reward for paying closer attention 🙂
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Well done, Molly! Thank you for closely reading and revealing your zinnia’s “hidden treasure for the attentive.” After studying the ring of “bright suns” all I can see are starfish, but that would have to be a different poem. I planted my zinnias late, so I have one lone bloom at the moment.
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Starfish in an ocean of blossoms…I think you have something there!
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Love the hidden gems in the garden. I recently found monarch caterpillars in mine. Thanks for your photos and the instructions for paying attention.
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Not much is more exciting than finding monarch caterpillars in the garden. We have milkweed, but I have yet to find a caterpillar on our plants.
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Your poem and photo are like a breath of fresh air!
Cousin Boo
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Thanks, Boo! I’m so glad you stopped by and thanks for commenting 🙂
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Oh, those beautiful poems about the flowers in your garden! Wow! I am being inspired again by you to look at the flowers, Molly.
“a whimsy of bright suns
circling the heart of it all”
Stunning!
And the zinnia’s tiny secret garden. I have never heard it described as such before, and that is just beautiful.
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I was so surprised by those tiny inner blossoms the first time I noticed them.
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Finding the center of most everything is a joy, this time celebrating zinnias, Molly. It’s lovely to read your words and “see” those centers.
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I especially love the beginning of your comment, “finding the center of most everything is a joy.” Truth!
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Zinnias have been a great joy to me as well. They have drawn in the monarch butterflies and the hummingbirds. Your close reading is gorgeously crafted.
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Thanks, Mary Lee. “My” hummingbirds gravitate toward the bee balm over the zinnias.
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Oh, gosh. Those bright suns and the taffety whirl-so much beauty here, Molly!
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Thanks, Laura! I love the happy sight of zinnias in the garden. They’re so bright and jaunty!
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The zinnia is such a generous bloom. The vibrant colors and butterflies who visit them are a delight. Your poem was a delight to read as well.
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Generous is right! What great word choice!
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Both of these poems are beautiful – each capturing the essence of the Zinnia and expressing it differently. Thanks for sharing these!
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Thanks!
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What joy, what pops of color and beauty in those photos and in the poem that asks us to read closely. I think there is a bit of reading lesson in there. LOVE it!
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Thanks, Linda. I love the bold colors of zinnias.
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I love all the tiny attention to detail in both the poems and the photos. There is so much to look at when you actually take it all in. Thanks for sharing!
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