Poem: "For Every Time I Thought of You"
Jul. 1st, 2023 11:47 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ysabetwordsmithThis poem was written for the ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
sunshine_challenge. Prompt 1 Iris / Bonus Prompt Pink Rose. It also fills the "Tie-dye Clothes" square in my 7-1-23 card for the Fireworks Bingo fest. It belongs to the series Eloquent Souls.
"For Every Time I Thought of You"
[June 1, 2023]
Iris Nakahara bent over her booth
at the Japanese July festival,
carefully arranging the flowers
in their ceramic vases.
Her kimono, too, had
flowers scattered over it,
but the long sleeves hid
her favorite flower of all --
the brilliant soulmark of an iris
whose stem spelled out her name.
She kept it covered, because after all,
people called her by name all the time,
and there was no need to encourage
more people to go fishing with it.
She'd know when the right one
came along, because his Words
would spill gilding over her Mark.
So she focused on selling flowers,
smiling and beckoning to customers,
and did quite well at the festival.
Then Iris spotted a young man
with the most interesting tattoo
sleeving his left arm -- tigers and
fish and flowers that she knew
would be pink even though the ink
was all black, because wild roses and
lotuses shared the same pale shade.
He had toasty brown skin and dark hair
done in many tiny braids with orange tips.
He wore a tie-dyed top in vivid colors,
and he smiled when he saw her, teeth
flashing bright ivory in a brown face.
"Iris," he said, reading her nametag.
"That's my name," she replied, and
pushed up her sleeve to show him
where gold lined the writing.
"I'm Tiger," he said, turning
his arm to show her the Words
on the inside of his arm, hidden
just underneath the big cat's belly.
"Named for the cat, and there he is,"
Iris said with a giggle, "but you
have so many flowers there too!"
Tiger smiled. "If I had a flower
for every time I thought of you,
then I could walk through
my garden forever," he said.
So Iris closed her booth,
and Tiger closed his as well --
he was selling tie-dye clothes --
and they walked through the festival
together, getting to know each other.
He was an artist, who made paintings
in addition to the tie-dye, and he was
fascinated by her descriptions of
her work with flower arranging.
Iris thought about the garden
wrapped around his arm, full of
hidden colors and wild things, and
thought she would be very happy
to walk through it alongside him.
* * *
Notes:
Tiger Ray Brown -- He has sorrel skin, brown eyes, and nappy brown hair done in many tiny braids with orange tips. His heritage includes African, American, and Asian. He speaks English. He is 23 years old in 2023.
Tiger is an artist. He paints pictures and makes tie-dye clothing. His soulmark from Iris Nakahara on his left arm reads, That's my name, and it's hidden amongst a sleeve of black-ink tattoos with tigers, fish, lotuses, and wild roses. Her soulmark from him on her right arm has a purple iris and reads, Iris. They met at the Japanese July festival where both of them were working at their respective booths.
Tiger Ray Brown's soulmark from Iris Nakahara (on his left arm):
(pictures of tigers, fish, lotuses, and wild roses in black ink)
That's my name.
Iris Nakahara's soulmark from Tiger Ray Brown (on her right arm):
(picture of a purple iris)
Iris
Iris Nakahara -- She has tawny-fair skin, almond-shaped brown eyes, and straight chestnut hair to her shoulders. Her heritage is Japanese-American. She speaks English and Japanese. She is 22 years old in 2023.
Iris is a florist. She enjoys arranging flowers and selling them at events. Her soulmark from Tiger Ray Brown on her right arm has a purple iris and reads, Iris. His soulmark from her on his left arm reads, That's my name, and it's hidden amongst a sleeve of black-ink tattoos with tigers, fish, lotuses, and wild roses. They met at the Japanese July festival where both of them were working at their respective booths.
Iris Nakahara's soulmark from Tiger Ray Brown (on her right arm):
(picture of a purple iris)
Iris
Tiger Ray Brown's soulmark from Iris Nakahara (on his left arm):
(pictures of tigers, fish, lotuses, and wild roses in black ink)
That's my name.
* * *
"If I had a flower for every time I thought of you...I could walk through my garden forever."
-- Alfred Lord Tennyson
Flower arranging has a long history. In Japan it's called Ikebana.
Tie-dye involves bunching and binding fabric before coloring it to create designs.
sunshine_challenge. Prompt 1 Iris / Bonus Prompt Pink Rose. It also fills the "Tie-dye Clothes" square in my 7-1-23 card for the Fireworks Bingo fest. It belongs to the series Eloquent Souls."For Every Time I Thought of You"
[June 1, 2023]
Iris Nakahara bent over her booth
at the Japanese July festival,
carefully arranging the flowers
in their ceramic vases.
Her kimono, too, had
flowers scattered over it,
but the long sleeves hid
her favorite flower of all --
the brilliant soulmark of an iris
whose stem spelled out her name.
She kept it covered, because after all,
people called her by name all the time,
and there was no need to encourage
more people to go fishing with it.
She'd know when the right one
came along, because his Words
would spill gilding over her Mark.
So she focused on selling flowers,
smiling and beckoning to customers,
and did quite well at the festival.
Then Iris spotted a young man
with the most interesting tattoo
sleeving his left arm -- tigers and
fish and flowers that she knew
would be pink even though the ink
was all black, because wild roses and
lotuses shared the same pale shade.
He had toasty brown skin and dark hair
done in many tiny braids with orange tips.
He wore a tie-dyed top in vivid colors,
and he smiled when he saw her, teeth
flashing bright ivory in a brown face.
"Iris," he said, reading her nametag.
"That's my name," she replied, and
pushed up her sleeve to show him
where gold lined the writing.
"I'm Tiger," he said, turning
his arm to show her the Words
on the inside of his arm, hidden
just underneath the big cat's belly.
"Named for the cat, and there he is,"
Iris said with a giggle, "but you
have so many flowers there too!"
Tiger smiled. "If I had a flower
for every time I thought of you,
then I could walk through
my garden forever," he said.
So Iris closed her booth,
and Tiger closed his as well --
he was selling tie-dye clothes --
and they walked through the festival
together, getting to know each other.
He was an artist, who made paintings
in addition to the tie-dye, and he was
fascinated by her descriptions of
her work with flower arranging.
Iris thought about the garden
wrapped around his arm, full of
hidden colors and wild things, and
thought she would be very happy
to walk through it alongside him.
* * *
Notes:
Tiger Ray Brown -- He has sorrel skin, brown eyes, and nappy brown hair done in many tiny braids with orange tips. His heritage includes African, American, and Asian. He speaks English. He is 23 years old in 2023.
Tiger is an artist. He paints pictures and makes tie-dye clothing. His soulmark from Iris Nakahara on his left arm reads, That's my name, and it's hidden amongst a sleeve of black-ink tattoos with tigers, fish, lotuses, and wild roses. Her soulmark from him on her right arm has a purple iris and reads, Iris. They met at the Japanese July festival where both of them were working at their respective booths.
Tiger Ray Brown's soulmark from Iris Nakahara (on his left arm):
(pictures of tigers, fish, lotuses, and wild roses in black ink)
That's my name.
Iris Nakahara's soulmark from Tiger Ray Brown (on her right arm):
(picture of a purple iris)
Iris
Iris Nakahara -- She has tawny-fair skin, almond-shaped brown eyes, and straight chestnut hair to her shoulders. Her heritage is Japanese-American. She speaks English and Japanese. She is 22 years old in 2023.
Iris is a florist. She enjoys arranging flowers and selling them at events. Her soulmark from Tiger Ray Brown on her right arm has a purple iris and reads, Iris. His soulmark from her on his left arm reads, That's my name, and it's hidden amongst a sleeve of black-ink tattoos with tigers, fish, lotuses, and wild roses. They met at the Japanese July festival where both of them were working at their respective booths.
Iris Nakahara's soulmark from Tiger Ray Brown (on her right arm):
(picture of a purple iris)
Iris
Tiger Ray Brown's soulmark from Iris Nakahara (on his left arm):
(pictures of tigers, fish, lotuses, and wild roses in black ink)
That's my name.
* * *
"If I had a flower for every time I thought of you...I could walk through my garden forever."
-- Alfred Lord Tennyson
Flower arranging has a long history. In Japan it's called Ikebana.
Tie-dye involves bunching and binding fabric before coloring it to create designs.
(no subject)
Date: 2023-07-02 05:20 am (UTC)Thank you!
Date: 2023-07-02 05:25 am (UTC)Many, though not all, of the poems in Eloquent Souls are light and sweet and romantic. It has some heavy hitters too, but the overall tone is a bit more upbeat than average for me. It's quite popular with my readers, but then soulbonds tend to be and that's the core of this setting.
(no subject)
Date: 2023-07-03 03:55 pm (UTC)Thank you!
Date: 2023-07-03 07:14 pm (UTC)Honestly, the most fun I have with this series is finding the soulmarks, if it's not an image prompt in the first place (which several pieces have been). Once I hit the right picture, the poem almost writes itself.
(no subject)
Date: 2023-07-13 05:56 pm (UTC)