Orchids
by Hazel Simmons-McDonald
I leave this house
box pieces of the five week life I've gathered.
I'll send them on
to fill spaces in my future life.
One thing is left
a spray of orchid someone gave
from bouquet one who
makes a ritual of flower-giving sent.
The orchids have no fragrance
but purple petals draw you
to look at the purple heart.
I watered them once
when the blossoms were full blown
like polished poems.
I was sure they'd wilt
and I would toss them out with the five week litter.
They were stubborn.
I starved them.
They would not die.
This morning the bud at the stalk's tip unfurled.
I think I'll pluck the full-blown blooms
press them between pages of memory.
Perhaps in their thin dried transparency
I'll discover their peculiar poetry.
Activity
What is the poem about?
Identify all literary devices in the poem and comment on their effectiveness and use in the poem.
Identify the theme of the poem
Identify any important words or phrases in the poem and comment on their meaning
What is the mood of the poem?
What is the tone of the poem?
LITERAL MEANING
The persona is moving from a house that she has occupied for five weeks. She has sent her belongings to her future home, but one item remains in her old space, an orchid. The persona clarifies that she was given the orchid as a gift, but implies that it holds no value because the gifting of orchids is habitual for the person who gave her. She describes the flower as odourless, but attractive. She watered the orchid once, expecting it to die, but it survived. It not only survived, but bloomed. The persona contemplates plucking the bloom and pressing it between the pages of a book. The purpose of this is to allow her to appreciate the flower.
SYMBOLISM
The orchid is a flower of magnificence that brings a universal message of love, beauty, wisdom, thoughtfulness, luxury, strength, refinement, affection, new growth and development.
“This elegant flower should make you feel pampered. Purple is the colour of royalty. Orchids are generally regarded as symbolic of rare and delicate beauty…. Their graceful appearance draws immediate attention, and their reputation as an exotic and unusual flower evokes a sense of refinement and innocence”.
LITERARY DEVICES
SIMILE- lines 13-14
The orchid’s full blown blossoms are being compared to a polished poem. The word polished in this comparison implies perfection, shiny and pleasant to read.
PUN- line 11
The purple heart literally refers to the splash of color in the center of the orchid’s bloom, but it could also refer to the bravery of the flower. This is so because a purple heart, in the army, is a medal that a soldier receives for bravery.
METAPHOR- lines 1-2
The persona compares her experience over a five week period with boxes that she uses to pack her belongings in.
MOOD/ ATMOSPHERE
The mood of the poem is pensive, or thoughtful. The persona is thinking about the lack of value that she places in the orchid.
TONE
The tone of the poem is one of almost bored musing.
THEMES
Death
Nature
Survival