“September Gardne Blogger’s Muse Day”, a copyrighted post, was written for my WordPress blog called Always Growing by Jan in Covington, Louisiana
Today is Garden Blogger’s Muse Day, day to post a poem relating to gardening.
The Night-blooming Cereus
And so for nights
we waited, hoping to see
the heavy bud
break into flower.
On its neck-like tube
hooking down from the edge
of the leaf-branch
nearly to the floor,
the bud packed
tight with its miracle swayed
stiffly on breaths
of air, moved
as though impelled
by stirrings within itself.
It repelled as much
as it fascinated me
sometimes–snake,
eyeless bird head,
beak that would gape
with grotesque life-squawk . . .
Robert Hayden
Thanks to Sweet Home and Garden Chicago for starting Garden Bloggers’ Muse Day. Be sure and stop by to see other great nature poetry.
Always Growing 
nancybond said,
September 1, 2009 at 9:04 pm
A wonderful offering for this GBMD, Jan — I’d never read that poem before, and I do like Hayden very much. The flower is stunning.
Jan said,
September 2, 2009 at 6:02 pm
Thanks, Nancy. This is one of the first Hayden poems I remember reading and thought immediately of my mother’s night-blooming cereus and how we would wait up at night to see the flower open.
Janet said,
September 2, 2009 at 6:45 am
How pretty these night bloomers are! Mine are all white, yours with the red pistal is interesting. Great poem to celebrate its bloom.
Jan said,
September 2, 2009 at 6:03 pm
Janet, I have another variety with a different shaped bloom, but it has not bloomed this year. Disappointing.
Phillip said,
September 2, 2009 at 6:25 pm
That is so awesome. I have a very small one. I wonder how long it will take to bloom?
Jan said,
September 3, 2009 at 4:37 am
Phillip, mine started putting out some blooms when it was about 18 inches high. Of course, as it got bigger, and I pinched it back some, more flowers came out. I just love this plant.
Jake said,
September 3, 2009 at 7:53 am
Beautiful! Mine didn’t bloom tis year, but it did a few times last year. The bloom’s weren’t near a spretty as this bloom.
Jake
Jan said,
September 4, 2009 at 5:29 pm
Thanks, Jake. My plant is fairly old, so maybe that is why I reliably get blooms now. If yours isn’t too old, that could be why it did not bloom this year.
Brad the Builder said,
September 10, 2009 at 7:06 am
Beautiful
lifeshighway said,
October 7, 2009 at 12:21 pm
I just found out about this flower today. Beautiful poem makes me want one of these plants even more than before.