Mercy

Lilies. Yesterday's buds have begun to open. [SOOC, cropped]

DESCRIPTION OF A LILY, or,
WHY A PICTURE IS WORTH TEN THOUSAND WORDS

Paprika pollen
dropping from horizontal anthers
decorates unfurled petals
and scents the air
like a mature woman
with perhaps too much makeup
and too heavy perfume
while an opening bud
like a young ingenue
in glorious freshness
allows the first glimpse
of her alluring beauty
with her polleny parts still clinging
vertically within.


Chantler63 Shakespeare Challenge and National Poetry Writing Month
Plays & their themes
Day 26: The Merchant of Venice (mercy)

Two poems today for the price of one.
The first was on the image,
the second is on the Shakespearean theme of mercy.

The inspiration for this haiku poem was a real estate article in the New York Times that described, among other things, the death of the former owner. If it interests you at all, I recommend viewing the slide show of his Central Park apartment and following the link to his obituary.

The poem is written in his voice—i.e., as a dramatic monologue.
You might even call it a variation on the theme, To be or not to be.

CHOOSING THE MOMENT
(in memoriam Robert W. Wilson)

I risked a million,
made eight hundred million more,
and gave it away.

Though staunch atheist,
in the arts and in the Church
I hobnobbed with kings.

My marble palace
was a grand apartment with
views of Central Park.

I lived long and well.
When a stroke diminished life
I leapt and took it.

Do you call that sin,
or crime? I call my courage
the mercy of God.