Today the prompt wanted us to make what they call a Personal Universal Deck of words that meant something to us (see the detail of the prompt here) and then pick four words at random to use in a poem. I didn’t have any cards to make a proper deck, so I used a tiny notebook I’ve had for ages and put one word on each page, and just opened it at random.

The 4 words I randomly picked were:

Frangipani. Dance. Star. Soil.

I have never forgotten frangipani flowers from when I was once in Barbados many years ago. They are so strongly scented – they almost made me dizzy. They are also a symbol of birth, love, new beginnings, spring and hope. Anyway – here is a first draft poem in their honour.

Frangipani Tree

Your starflowers step light

in a circle dance,

sweet succulent steps,

five this way, five that.

 

Your pale buttermilk blooms

stand firm as felt,

pinwheeled together

by a custard sun.

 

You tang the air, send it ginger,

syrupy, paste the smell

of plum roses on the wall

of a tropical night.

 

You spring from sandy soil,

coast-facing, shrug off

the bite of salt winds,

hug hope warm and close,

 

You hold the curve

of your petals as oval-wide

as any unwrinkled

newborn’s eye.