Amaryllis by Jessica Lamb

Amaryllis

by Jessica Lamb

I brought it home to find a blossom

already come and gone in the dark box.

The petals were slippery and stank

but they were perfect; blood-red, curved

back so the singular yellow stigma

stood gracefully erect. To think

of how this flower made itself: surging

past the plastic seal, forcing its way

to the top of the box, where its last cells

burst forth in bloom designed

to sit upon my table and appall.

So if while you were reading this poem you started to wonder why you were feeling some sexy vibes, and then freaked out because it's a poem about a flower, rest assured your feelings were on target.

First, look at the photo of three red amaryllises above. Some flowers, as Georgia O'Keefe well knew, are just sexy.

Second, look at the words Jessica Lamb uses in this poem. Let's list the sexy ones, shall we?

come

dark

slippery

stank (I'll allow)

blood-red

curved

erect

surging

burst

Then, the last bit of the poem sounds like the lone sperm getting to the egg, doesn't it?

"past the plastic seal, forcing its way

to the top of the box, where its last cells

burst forth in bloom"

Of course it does, because that is exactly what is poking out of the flower; well, not EXACTLY. But those curved yellow bits in the photo above are the flowers reproductive organs.

So this is a poem about the sex lives of people and the sex lives of flowers in a short narrative about a woman who brings home an amaryllis and then is "appalled" by the sexuality the erect thing is displaying on her table (or a woman who brings home a man, has sex, gets pregnant even though there was some "plastic" device being used that should have prevented that).

I love how this poem does so many things at once--it is a great example of the power of words, images, and an understanding of horticulture! It made me smile throughout and then smile even larger at the last line ("Appalled" makes me think of Victorians swooning when seeing a woman's calf.).

This poem can be found in Jessica Lamb's wonderful 2009 collection, Last Empires of Late Empires, published by Airlie Press. Since Sunday's poem was long, sad, and lilac-based , I thought a short, happy, amaryllis-based poem was a good idea.

If you would like to know more about the reproductive organs of flowers (and you do, or should--it is fascinating), OSU Extension Services has this wonderful page all about this topic--with diagrams! Enjoy!