Tropic Blooms Poem by Liilia Talts Morrison

They say it's good to bloom where planted
And I was born where birches dwell
Yet I was cut and roughly grafted
To tropic shores in palm fronds shade

When very small my world was poppies
Pale lilacs and chrysanthemums
I ran in meadows filled with daisies
Where tiger lilies sprinkled gold

Time came when bluest jacarandas
And speckled pink caladiums
Surrounded my exotic hideout
Where hardy Seminoles once trod

As years passed ruby red hibiscus
And gloried Poinciana blooms
Became my world of tropic flavor
Embracing me as I grew old

Who would have guessed a Nordic childhood
Brisk seasons marking every year
Was left behind and not regretted
Though kept in caves of memory

They say it's good to bloom where planted
And I was born where birches dwell
Yet I was cut and roughly grafted
To tropic shores and palm fronds shade.