HARVARD’S GLASS FLOWERS
At Harvard’s Peabody Museum there are botanically correct glass flowers. I used to enjoy wandering among those slightly dusty shelves when I was a student (and a botany major for one semester). Haiku poet Elizabeth Lamb visited when her husband Bruce wanted to see them. He was a forester and ethno-botanist, author of the classic book WIZARD OF THE UPPER AMAZON.
I enjoyed finding these among Elizabeth’s papers. This is selected from a longer sequence, which I believe is not collected in any of her books.
unable to fade,
here in drawn glass
blue morning glories
a bright young voice
“this one is real–
it has to be!”
New England asters:
the dust of an autumn
roadside
she comes for a look,
Pekingese under her arm–
both a little bored
a botany student
carefully noting down
all the scientific names
an evening moth
visits the bachelors-button
forever
April 24, 2010 at 2:52 am
Thanks so much, Miriam, for posting Elizabeth’s haiku. They are new to me and a most welcome gift–”unable to fade” for certain.
April 24, 2010 at 3:26 pm
Peggy, I appreciate it!
April 24, 2010 at 8:02 pm
What a wonderful gift! Elizabeth’s haiku always teaches us something about being and I am grateful. Many thanks.
April 24, 2010 at 8:23 pm
Thank you–I feel the same way.
April 25, 2010 at 1:40 am
http://jingleyanqiu.wordpress.com/2010/04/24/well-here-comes-the-week-15-rally-awards-and-more/
two poetry awards,
plus,
hot blog award,
you are a princess award.
enjoy!
April 26, 2010 at 3:09 pm
What wonderful haiku. Thanks for posting. Just a note that Harvard’s collection of 3,000 plus Blaschka Glass Flowers are on display in the Harvard Museum of Natural History, 26 Oxford Street, Cambridge. The adjacent Peabody Museum is the University’s renowned museum of Archaeology and Ethnology.
April 26, 2010 at 3:12 pm
Thank you!