Where Do We Find Inspiration to Spur Our Creativity?

Using nature as the inspiration for poetry is not new, but different seasons and weather can provide a different look at familiar sights.

Inspiration for the Poem

The inspiration for this poem occurred while I was on a walk this morning. In Chicago everyone lives close together or on top of each other. Perhaps not quite like in New York, but it still feels foreign to someone raised where it was rare for people to live without at least some land around their homes. Here when there is land in front of a home or apartment building, it can be measured in square feet not acres, and the amount is in the double digits not three or four. It is also usually the case that these “front lawns” are bare patches of dirt or grass and sometimes just concrete.

But the owners of one house near me transform their front area into a stunning garden each summer. One day there’s nothing there and the next it is a riot of plants and flowers,garden benches, with a little Buddha statue peeking out from one of the corners The sounds of a murmuring fountain floats soothingly from within the decorative wrought iron fence. This house is on my way to the neighborhood coffee shop where I often write, and I never fail to pause and take in the beauty of this garden when either coming or going.

Spring, what there is of it, and summer in Chicago is an odd time. More days than not, though you may wake up to bright sunshine within a couple of hours it becomes grey and overcast. This summer has been more strange than most as weather casters have predicted we may not see temperature reach above 70 degrees and only two nights so far have not required a sweater, jacket and sometimes a full coat.

There has also been an unusual number of fierce thunderstorms that seem to come out of nowhere. This hasn’t been unwelcome to me as I love thunderstorms especially at night when the lightning flares in the sky and you can sometimes see the individual bolts forking in the dark as they flash.

I like thunderstorms less when I find myself caught outside and blocks from home without benefit of hood, hat or umbrella. I often wear shoes with some kind of a heel which makes running difficult at best, but it was clear that this was not going to be a light rain, and I preferred not to be outside it really started coming down. I broke into a light job but before I’d managed to go more than a few yards, the skies opened to the point I could barely see in front of me.

Sighing, I slowed down. I was already wet through to the skin and it felt more like swimming than walking so risking a twisted ankle wasn’t worth it. As I was passing the house with the garden, even in this weather it caught my eye. It’s was beautiful in a different way in the storm and as a particularly bright bolt of lightning flashed the colors seemed like they held a light all their own which lasted as an afterimage for a couple of seconds. It was in that moment that this poem was born.

Inspiration For the Title

The flower in the poem’s title, the Meghalaya, was not one that was in my neighbors garden. It was chosen because of it’s bright red color and yellow center and the fact that it was a water lily. Given the circumstances, that seemed appropriate!

Natalie Frank (Taye Carrol) has had work featured in Haunted Waters Press, Weirdbook Magazine, Siren’s Call Publications, Lycan Valley Press and Zero Fiction among others. Her poetry has been featured in several anthologies. She is the Managing Editor for Novellas and Serials at LVP Publications.

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