Each day I check the fuchsia bushes
and each day I see new growth
as shoots extend into the air,
dressed in their crinkly green leaves.
Then four little knobs appear
at the centre of each extending stem
and gradually become larger and fuller
until they suddenly burst forth in profuse shades
of sometimes dark, sometimes delicate, red sepals
lifting like skirts to reveal more boldly purple petals
arranged like pantaloons around
contrasting stamens and stigma
which promise even greater growth -
just like this new year which has
quietly crept up on me.
© Valerie Laura
1 January 2010
