First Poppies of Summer

Yesterday’s nod to Hemerocallis Fulva, notwithstanding, my floral fondness for Papavers is an open secret. Who am I kidding? It’s no secret at all! So I brimmed with jubilation when Pam surprised me today, with our first poppies of summer. I was euphoric!

And so a spontaneous haiku was born…

Summer’s First Poppies

Summer’s first poppies:
petite preemies, delicate,
fuzzy, threadlike stems. 

Perfection at quarter scale. Stems almost too slight to support the floppy blooms. Vulnerable. Durable. Both.

I remember a previous pensé on poppies and haiku. It perfectly applies to these first poppies of summer.

Almost ephemeral brevity, stark minimalism, and — at best — a tingly eureka moment overlap haiku’s distinctive hallmark. Delicate. Vigorous. As unlikely a juxtaposition as poppies. Exuding a fragility and sparseness, but remarkably robust and resilient, the poppy is the haiku of flowers… (Source: Poppy Poems)

Poppies. Haiku. Perhaps they’re cousins?