The Hub

[pavalamani pragasam]

Flowers

Great schemers, the flowers sure are-
Brightly colored for the day,
Brilliant white for the night,
Strongly scented in addition,
Announcing their location with assurance.

Full blossoms laden with nectar
Invite for feast the winged guests:
Buzzing bees and dainty butterflies,
Spotted bugs and shiny beetles,
Big and small, dull and colorful.

They come in hosts and in single file
To gorge in the sweet honey.
Drunk and dazed,
They waltz on the petals
In a tipsy dance of ecstasy.

The restless revelers leave the flowers
With their hairy legs and body
Coated with the yellow dust
That is sprinkled all over
The freshly opened honey cups.

The avid drinkers land again
On another bed of flowers-
A silent transfer of the yellow powder
Follows - a fantastic propagation mission:
Cleverly planned, but seemingly casual.

The pollen finds its destination-
Begun as a floral merrymaking,
Bringing about fertilization,
The fruition of love's labor
Is the joyous secret of Nature's perpetuation.