Poetry Break: “Let Me Tell You Where I’ve Been” – Ode to the Flowers of Fiji

  Posted on May 3, 2021 By

 88 Comments

During these Covid days of no travel, which I have great hopes will end very soon, I have taken great pleasure in the many memories my husband and I have of our travels around the globe. Of these memories, perhaps none stand out more than Fiji. 

We went there for our honeymoon in 2015. We had toyed with many places to go for this special trip, even considering a train ride across Europe at one point. In the end, though, our eyes turned to the Fiji Islands. A place I had seen photos of often, that seemed like the perfect balance between nature and relaxation, mixed with exotic, tropical adventures. We did indeed receive both in ample measure at this gorgeous island nation. 

One of the things I loved the most about Fiji was all the flowers. So many flowers, everywhere you look. As a big fan of flowers (you can view my flower photo album here), this was like a paradise for me. So, I thought you might enjoy a look at some of the beautiful flora of the Fiji islands, paired up with some rhyming verse. Enjoy! 

Red – like my heart, beating hard inside my chest

Just like rubies and garnets, the bark in the redwood forest

The color of the poppies on so many graves from war

One of three on our banner that people gave their lives for

     

Orange – like the summer, like tigers, like sun

The color I see behind my eyes after an exhausting run

Like pumpkins, like fall, my favorite time of year

Orange is the color I think of when I need to feel some cheer

Yellow – like happiness, like smiles, like spring

Golden tulips, Dandelions, like the finches that sing

Memories from glorious playtime in the park as a child

Of daisies in the prairies, of so many walks in the wild

Green – the softness under my bare toes in the grass

When I lay under a shade tree in summer, waiting for time to pass

Green like a sparkling emerald, or the lime in my cocktail glass

Green like a lucky clover, or forests that grow in mass

Blue – it makes me feel calm, like night time, like sleep

Blue like the Pacific ocean, so beautiful, so deep

Blue reminds me of winter, of ice, of snow

Of the sky when the sun comes out, or tears when I’m feeling low

Pink – so sprightly, so cheerful, so sublime

The color of my cheeks when I kissed my husband for the first time

Or the candy hearts on Valentine’s Day, with their sayings so slick

Or the cotton candy I used to eat right off of a stick

Purple – So royal, so regal, so true

Especially the real deep kind that’s oh-so-close to blue

Purple like the violets, or grapes that make the wine

Seen on many dresses, on royal robes so fine

 

All the colors of the rainbow, the flowers of Fiji possess

They fill my heart with memories, they make me feel weightless

There’s nothing in the world like flowers to put a smile on my face

And there’s nothing like the Flowers of Fiji, that beautiful, magical place.

All photos by M.B. Henry – for more from Fiji, click here

And gather round, my dear friends, for I have BIG, BIG news. I have sold my first book! With the help of my fantastic agent Lindsay Guzzardo at Martin Literary, I have received a book deal with Crooked Lane/Alcove Press for my D-Day Novel, entitled “The Wartime Girls,” aiming for a 2022 release. I am so very pleased for the opportunity to share this book with the world. Stay tuned for updates as this situation develops! 

 Category: History

88 Comments on “Poetry Break: “Let Me Tell You Where I’ve Been” – Ode to the Flowers of Fiji”

  1. Your poetry and pictures are a lovely mirror for each other. Congratulations on your book. I love WWII fiction and can’t wait to read it .

    Reply

    • Thanks very much! I’m very excited (and also nervous sometimes!) to share the book with you and the world! I’m very glad you liked the poem and photos too 🙂 🙂 A nice Fiji respite 🙂

      Reply

    • Thank you very much! 🙂 I’m very excited about it!

      Reply

      • I love color and the combination of your photos and the images conjured by your verse brightened my morning. And the book news is so exciting!

      • So glad you enjoyed it! Yes I am VERY excited about the book, hope to have more updates soon! 🙂

    • Many, many thanks 🙂 And I’m so glad you enjoyed the Fiji flowers!

      Reply

  7. I love your flower photos, especially the hibiscus. Huge congratulations on getting a book deal! Your post of poetry and flowers was like a bouquet. You deserve one for your accomplishment. 😁

    Reply

    • Awww thank you so much! I never thought of it as a bouquet before what a cool concept! 🙂

      Reply

  8. Congratulations on the book deal, MB! Fantastic! As are your Fiji photos, accompanied by your heartfelt poetry.

    Reply

    • Thanks so much Dave! I’m still having a hard time believing my book will be out there in the world soon haha. I’m also very glad you liked the Fiji flowers and poem 🙂

      Reply

  11. Congrats on your book deal, MB! Very exciting.
    I loved seeing the flowers of Fiji and reading your poem to accompany them. Hopefully, you’ll be traveling again soon. 🙂

    Reply

    • Yes, I would LOVE to travel again soon. I will be fully vaccinated by June 1 so hopefully we can at least work in a little trip this summer!

      Reply

  12. Wow, wow, wow! I was enjoying your flowers so much and then you break the huge news. I am so excited for you. Congratulations, MB. 😊👏

    Reply

  13. GET OUT! A book deal??? So proud of you! This is such great news ❤️❤️❤️. And love the post in general…the pink section resonated with me the most 😀

    Reply

    • 🙂 🙂 🙂 That’s right! I can still hardly believe it myself haha. I’m glad you enjoyed the poem and flowers! I’ll keep everyone posted on how the book stuff comes along

      Reply

  15. Lovely flowers and poem, very excited for your book, don’t forget to post the links for buying it when it comes out!

    Reply

    • Aren’t they gorgeous? So many hibiscus in Fiji! They had it everywhere and all the blooms were always huge!

      Reply

    • Thanks so much! 🙂 I’m very glad you enjoyed the pics and poem too

      Reply

  21. Congratulations M.B! What wonderful news!
    I enjoyed your poetry and flowers. So lovely my friend.
    Happy Week to you!

    Reply

  24. How wonderful that you have the memories! I don’t think we’ll ever get that far. So I’ll just read this again when I need to.

    Reply

    • 🙂 🙂 Glad it can give you a glimpse of Fiji that you enjoy!

      Reply

  25. Lovely images and poetry M.B!!!
    And congratulations to the impressive news! How exciting it must be for you!

    Reply

    • Thanks so much! Yes, I am absolutely THRILLED with getting to share this book with the world

      Reply

  28. I’m thrilled to pieces for you. Given the quality of your writing here on your blog, I’m not at all surprised a publisher was ready to pick it up. It’s a gift to be able to turn history into a story, and you certainly have the gift.

    Of course I love the flowers, too, and I thoroughly enjoyed the poetry. If you don’t know, your purple flower is Duranta. It’s planted quite a bit here, and it’s a gorgeous flower — like all the others!

    Reply

    • I didn’t know that about the purple flower! Thanks so much for enlightening me 🙂 And thank you so much for your kind words about my blog and book deal. It gives me great joy to share history with others, and even greater joy when they like it! 🙂 🙂

      Reply

  29. This is such an uplifting post in so many ways – your trip, the island, the flowers, your poetry, and the announcement of a book deal! So very happy for you! Congratulations!

    Reply

  30. Many, many congratulations on the book deal! This is a special year for you. Loved the poetry and beautiful blossoms of Fiji. K x

    Reply

    • Thank you so much! 🙂 Yes it’s been a very special year indeed – a lot of big changes 🙂 I’m so glad you enjoyed the poem and photos

      Reply

  33. Congratulations M.B., that’s awesome news! 🤗

    Reply

  34. Beautiful photo selections accompany with your eloquent poem. Congratulations on your book!

    Reply

  36. Whee! CONGRATS on your upcoming book release. THAT IS COMPLETELY AWESOME! So pleased and thrilled. Plus, I know it will be a good read. I can’t wait to order a copy. Nicely done!

    P.S. Such a beautiful collection of flowers. You’ve captured such vivid colours. Spring is a little hesitant in our corner of the world, so it’s wonderful to see such gorgeous blooms.

    Reply

    • Yay! Thank you so much! Yes it should be coming out next spring so I’m very excited! I will definitely keep everyone posted here on where/when they can buy it. And I’m so glad you enjoyed the post and it brought you some spring beauty!

      Reply

    • Thank you so much!! 🙂 I’m very excited for the book road ahead!

      Reply

  39. Congrats on the book deal, looks like this relocation is really working for you!

    Thanks for sharing Fiji’s floral beauty in words and pics … what a lovely tropical paradise to honeymoon in 🙂

    Reply

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“I do not mean to say that the scenes of the Revolution are now or ever will be entirely forgotten, but that, like everything else, they must fade upon the memory of the world, and grow more and more dim by the lapse of time. In history, we hope, they will be read of, and recounted, so long as the Bible shall be read; but even granting that they will, their influence cannot be what it heretofore has been. Even then they cannot be so universally known nor so vividly felt as they were by the generation just gone to rest. At the close of that struggle, nearly every adult male had been a participator in some of its scenes. The consequence was that of those scenes, in the form of a husband, a father, a son, or a brother, a living history was to be found in every family – a history bearing the indubitable testimonies of its own authenticity, in the limbs mangled, in the scars of wounds received, in the midst of the very scenes related – a history, too, that could be read and understood alike by all, the wise and the ignorant, the learned and the unlearned. But those histories are gone. They can be read no more forever. They were a fortress of strength; but what invading foreman could never do, the silent artillery of time has done – the leveling of its walls. They are gone. They were a forest of giant oaks; but the all-restless hurricane has swept over them, and left only here and there a lonely trunk, despoiled of its verdure, shorn of its foliage, unshading and unshaded, to murmur in a few more gentle breezes, and to combat with its mutilated limbs a few more ruder storms, then to sink and be no more. They were pillars of the temple of liberty; and now that they have crumbled away that temple must fall unless we, their descendants, supply their places with other pillars, hewn from the solid quarry of sober reason.”
-Abraham Lincoln

M.B. HENRY

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