City of Flowers

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Christchurch

The city of flowers

On my first morning

in Christchurch

I bundle up

with many layers,

jacket and hat

Yes it is cool

even though the flowers

announce spring

and I walk around the block

 a route

I had taken

many hundreds of times

as a child

and admire the colours

of the azaleas

and rhododendrons

 

and the blues

of the blue bells

 

I once could tell you

the names of my home town flowers

 

 but now colour

is enough

 

 but I recognise the protea

with its red spiral suns

 

I walked or biked by this gate

innumerable times as I grew up

 

always wondering

who it was

 

who live at Number 75

with the enchanting entry

 

 these pea like

cascading tree flowers

made me think

of the native New Zealand

kowhai

 

and this is it

a quite different bloom

 

delicate blossoms

and flowers

brightened a chill walk

filled me with joy

and tenderness

and hope

surprise

when I encountered

a new tree

I'd never seen before

and made me realise

that Christchurch is really

the city of Flowers...

and I am not yet home

from my walk,

so will you join me tomorrow

for more flowers

of this beautiful city...

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