Have a read of my poem, ‘Distraction’ first published in Burrow, Old Water Rat Publishing. It is one of the poems in my debut poetry collection, ‘The Cellist, a Bellydancer & Other Distractions‘ (Ginninderra Press) 2022.

I hope you enjoy it.

Distraction:

My crimson bougainvillea

lives in a good-drainage-pot.

I feed it fertilizer, and I keep

the soil a little on the dry side.

The bougainvillea thrives

with five hours of full sunlight a day,

scrambling vigorously up

a frame attached to the wall.

It flowers three times a year

with heavy pruning, lack of overwatering,

a fertiliser low in nitrogen and its roots

slightly restricted in a small container.

I watch the plant’s flourishing from my bed:

its blooming brings beauty to my day.

It stops me from watching the latest news.

Copyright 2023 Libby Sommer