Jacarandas
The Jacarandas are blooming
Standing tall and a little too long always
Their bright beautiful purples reaching for the skies
The remind me of every teenager I have ever been or dreamed to be
A little too tall, could have used a few pounds, as the song goes
My purples reached for everything above and around me
Bright and shining, proud and strong without being any kind of wise
I lived for my moments in their mercurial flow from one to the next
The drama and manufactured horror of just growing up too slow but way too fast
Needing it all and understanding almost none of it for decades
The Jacarandas are in bloom
Not my first flower or spring not event my sixtieth
All those teenage mysteries have been lived through
All those loves have bloomed, faded and fallen, save one
Loving those moments as they flow from one to the next
Sad or happy or bored, all are so precious to me now
The imagined drama and horror of old age surrounds me far too quickly
I know so much more than I understand
The Jacarandas scream purple joy to the heavens once again
A teenaged boy’s wonder still abides
My art, words and inexpressible joy surrounds me slowly so slowly
My hurts forgotten, my joys exaggerated and my life not near long enough
To understand what I know
To find more teenage mysteries to ponder,
To decide with certainty
To have the complete confidence in so many misunderstandings
I wonder what the Jacarandas will feel
As their purple blossom blanket blows around our roots
I for one am grateful for their help in making this day, this moment, wonderful.