Pondering Magnolia Shapes

What shapes do you love?
I’m into circles and dots
and leaves and branches too.
Be aware of what you love
and then study it,
inhale it, and imbibe it.
That’s what I’d recommend.
Breathe it in, bask in it,
marinate in it, emulate it.
I’m immersing in
these magnolia shapes,
which are a total treat
to me every year.
I’m grateful for all the
aerobatic idiosyncrasies
they unabashedly proclaim,
pirouetting in the breeze,
for as long as they last,
which they blithely
have no control over,
flagrantly spending out
their outrageous beauty,
not caring
how much of a mess
they make in the process,
knowing that their
passionate expression
will just provide
mulch for the world.
Although so temporal
and overly sensitive,
I love them and yearn to
amplify and articulate them;
bringing more of their
profuse limber essence
and quirky, flexible forms
my into my life’s work,
exercising such gorgeousness
and suppleness and extravagance
in my thinking and in my art.
What shape are you in?
I’m either round
or organic it seems,
curvy, unfurling,
splaying open,
and bursting out
lavishly,
like a magnolia,
velvety with
uninhibited exuberance.

by Polly Castor
4/20/2023