(inspired by Lille, France– October 2015)

Orchids

Bright lips lean into each other over the lazy balcony,
their purple locks beckon strangers to stop and admire
their Saturday song, petals coy like feathers floating
along the streets of Flanders.

The morning is alive in the air,
dancing on your breath like thoughts
of first snow in October,
a time when scarves checkered with solitude
come too soon to say “goodbye.”

A motorcycle, bright as cherry, tilts into the gutter,
expecting to disappear from the monochromic winter,
its engine a beautiful snapshot as a memory months before
how you felt those hands holding you, holding orchids
crushed against the heart, begging to stay
until the season got better and you recovered
from the thought of leaving once again,
before lavender returned to the eyes,
gazing high above the balcony window.

© Rebecca Goes Rendezvous, 2025

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Published by Rebecca

Blogger, world traveler, poet, foodie, part-time penguin. Welcome!

24 thoughts on “Orchids (poem)”

  9. Lovely Rebecca, very evocative with a touch of melancholia which is always good in my book. I like the imagery of petals as lips and, I must say, the idea of not only one but all motorcycles tilting into the gutter. (and preferably disappearing forever ha ha). Now I’m off to buy an orchid for our apartment 😉

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    1. Thanks, Leighton! This poem had been sitting in my drafts for years, and I consider this my love letter to France: a bit melancholic, a bit bittersweet, but also full of nostalgia and good memories in between. Get that orchid!! 😊

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