Watching. Noticing. Listening. There’s more time for being more aware these days. More aware of the nuances of nature.
Welcome to another This Photo wants to be a Poem episode. Observe. Notice. Research, if you will. Then write about 15 words or so as a snippet of a poem. Leave comments on other poems.
My neighbor has been posting pictures of her century plant almost daily for the last few weeks. I’d never heard of one before, but a century plant blooms once in its lifetime. And hers is about to bloom. Patience is keeping us waiting.
I commented on one of her photos that this plant needed to be a poem. I can spend (waste) a lot of time down a research rabbit hole. Here are some quick bullets copied from Google about this plant.
- Although it is called the century plant, Agave Americana typically lives only 10 to 30 years. It has a spread around 6–10 ft (1.8–3.0 m) with gray-green leaves of 3–5 ft (0.9–1.5 m) long, each with a prickly margin and a heavy spike at the tip that can pierce deeply.
- Although century plants are quite long-lived — though not nearly as long as their name would suggest — they die right after flowering. As soon as flowers set seed and drop, the plant withers and dies.
- The plant is called the “century plant” because of this “once a century” bloom (actually the plant lives an average of 25 years).
- Agave plants are easy to grow, but they do have a few “needs” to thrive. They need at least 6 hours of direct sun and well-drained soils. Planting in well-drained soil is particularly important in preventing root rot, especially in North Florida where cooler winter temperatures may add stress to your plant.
- The massive flower clusters (1-8 m long) are borne at the top of a very robust flowering stem.
Once in a Lifetime
Stairway to heaven,
Margaret Simon, draft
one step at a time,
blossoms in the sky!
Reflections on the Teche 
Wow! That looks like one giant piece of asparagus…which reminds me of the Jolly Green Giant…which reminds me of Jack and the Giant but a skinny would be best. So,
Jack didn’t stop at Giant’s castle door
Jack
climbed
right
over
roof
climbed
over
chimney
smoke
climbed
past Giant’s door only stopping at the moon
(c)Linda Mitchell 4/16/20
What a wild photo … and I feel a little sad about this plant blooming only once then dying. So, as I’m currently in Fibonacci mode:
Half
moon
watches
in daylight
as century plant
blooms, just once, before final night.
ooooh! I like this form for this poem. Nice. And, it is sad.
Before final night is a great way to circle back to the moon. Fibs may be appropriate as I’d bet there is a fractal in this plant.
When they were only in their new home a few years, my son & family noticed a plant growing by their garage & each day, growing fast! It was amazing & it looked like your pictures, did bloom, & that was the end!
each day
looking out
strange green visitor
tops all the homes
our lifetime experience
welcome
Linda Baie ©
Wow! Great story. It surely tops the roofs.
What a fun and odd thing to discover at a new house!
What an interesting plant and story! Lovely poems!
[…] While walking, I stop to check on my neighbor’s century plant, now in full bloom. This plant has been in the process of blooming for ten weeks. It has been a source of wonder and hope for all who have seen it. These plants bloom once in their lifetime. After blooming, it dies. I posted it in April for “This Photo wants to be a Poem.” […]