ZINNIAS
ZINNIAS
by Randall Nicholas
scurrilous scarlet, prurient peach,
licentious orange, voluptuous mahogany,
schizophrenic violet, blasphemous pink,
raging crimson, embarrassed rose,
frustrated beige, violent taupe,
seething indigo, unruffled white,
pustulant yellow, mercenary gold,
disgruntled brown, holocaustal fawn
Racist daisies, suicidal dandelions, complicit Lily of the Valley, merciful Rose of Sharon, arrogant Jack in the Pulpit, dour daffodils
Fun game- slivers of content mette out by matching adjectives to flowers in a descending way that lends a story arc (implied) in the ordering of listing as if sifting through a seed catalog for next seasons starters.
Twerking Nasturtium harvest in full swing this Fall. Disembodied Dahlias due out by March of next year.
I didn’t think to look at the adjectives like a story arc. I was going after the colors, namely the last four. Fun to think about. I could be on to something, or not, but either way that’s a seriously troubled box of crayons.
This is a fun poem. Great exercise. Reminds me of something Dan Raphael might do.
It was fun writing it, but I see it more as a “troubled box of crayons.”