Plant Poetry by Markus Hamence – 20 April 2024

Ode To The Bali Cactus

In the garden’s quiet corner stands,
A prickly sentinel from distant lands,
Bali’s cactus, stoic and sublime,
A spiny tower, untouched by time.

Emerald arms reach up to the sky,
Silhouetted ‘gainst the sunrise nigh,
Thorns like tiny stars alight,
Gleaming fierce through the cool night.

Each petal, a velvet mystery,
Blushes pink with a history,
Whispers tales of arid clime,
Where sun beats down in rhythmic time.

But here, in this more gentle place,
It thrives amidst the soft embrace,
Of milder sun and tender rain,
Far from its native desert plain.

A guardian of the sands no more,
Yet still as proud as once before,
Bali’s cactus stands alone,
A king forever, though far from throne.

In quiet hours, I draw near,
Respectful of those spines I fear,
Yet in its presence, I find peace,
A living sculpture, nature’s masterpiece.

Photography by Markus Hamence – Seminyak, Bali 2024