A Shoutout to Florida, My Fellow Writers, and Coffee Times
How the words of two fellow writers inspired me to pen this piece
I recently posted a Six-word photo story about the hibiscus flowers that light up my garden. One of the readers who commented on my piece was Dennett. She wrote about how easy it is to grow hibiscus in Florida.
Her comment brought back memories of a road trip hubby and I had taken five years back along the Florida Keys. I didn’t know what to expect of Florida then. It certainly wasn’t the exuberance of flowers.
But I guess the name says it all.
Florida was named by explorer Ponce de Leon in 1513. The name comes from the Spanish word “florido,” which means “flowery” or “full of flowers.”
I saw why the name was a no-brainer — all along the route.
Roses, roses all the way…
The scenery reminded me of the opening line of a Robert Browning poem I had studied in school:
“It was roses, roses all the way…”
Well, not exactly.
Here it was bougainvillea, hibiscus, frangipani, plumbago, ixora — a rainbow blooming along the route.
Most of South Florida’s flowering plants do well in Texas. There’s just one problem. Our plants die back in winter. Every spring, they have to start all over again.
The fire bush in my garden — the favorite of bees, wasps, and hummingbirds — currently stands six feet high. It measures five feet across. I came across its counterpart in Florida that was fifteen feet high and almost as wide — the size of a small tree.
Writing poetry…
During the trip, I was so inspired by the fabulousness of Florida that I wrote a poem. Its title: “The Keys in Kolor.”
My preferred writing genre is the essay.
Occasionally, I write commemorative poems to celebrate milestone birthdays or anniversaries for friends and family.
The Florida poem was dear to my heart because it was my first “real” poem.
I posted it on Medium in July 2021, three weeks after joining the platform.
Since then, I have written half a dozen Haikus and a couple of Scikus. I haven’t gotten to Tankas or Ethereees just yet. But once I do, who’s to say a Fibonacci poem might not be next?
Mark Twain once said…
“I didn’t have time to write you a short letter, so I wrote you a long one.”
This post started as a shortform piece to rejuvenate my Florida poem. But it quickly grew a pair of legs and escaped the 150-word-count I was trying to confine it to.
Then I told myself: You’re writing about a road trip that was kind of a nature ramble. So a rambling narrative is exactly what’s needed here.
(And I’m sticking to my excuse.)
To paraphrase Mark Twain — it takes too long to write something short. And who am I to argue with a literary icon?
Plus, I didn’t want to get stingy with words when giving a shoutout to two awesome and prolific fellow writers.
In November (11/08/2021), B.R. Shenoy wrote a piece about using shortform to breathe fresh life into older dear-to-your-heart posts.
I had been thinking about her suggestion. I finally decided to act on it — even if I didn’t go the shortform route.
Thank you, B.R. for sharing a wealth of information, tips, and practical advice on diverse topics through your writing. As also for your lovely poems: haiku, tanka, monoku, and etheree.
And for helping me find my way around Medium when I was a confused newbie.
Have to give a shoutout to Dennett. Thank you for your beautiful photographs and stories. For your inspiring publications: Weeds and Wildflowers, House of Haiku, and Snapshots.
When I first joined Medium and was making all kinds of submission mistakes, Dennett was incredibly patient and encouraging.
To my Readers: Thank you for reading!
If you liked this story, then you might enjoy a Sciku:
Or an Essay:
A Big Thank You to Coffee Times for giving writers a platform to support each other and build a strong community.
