Purple Royalty

If you would like to get me a gift, please consider the colour purple. 

Well, I'll accept gifts in any colour of course. I'd be excited about gifts in shades of pink. I'll happily accept red too. But a gift in purple goes deep to the deepest part of my heart. It's my favourite colour. And I'll tell you why. It's all because of one tree. 

Soft, delicate purple bliss blooming in October. Covering the brown earth like a lustrous glorious carpet. Gigantic and majestic, branches spread out, rising up to the blue sky. The mighty Jacaranda.

When I close my eyes and think the furthest back I can of my childhood, my memories are filled with Jacaranda trees in full bloom and their delicate purple flowers some fallen on the ground.

I remember picking these flowers up and tucking them in my little fingers as though long slip-on purple nail polish. They fit well just like wonderful caps. It's as though they were meant for this. I also remember playing with them moving them on the tip of my fingers like I would puppets and flossing them like a diva queen. I felt like purple royalty. 

See, I spent the first eight years of my life in a children's home. Behind the buildings at one of the furthest corners were two, maybe three large Jacaranda trees. I can picture them in my head right now. All in full bloom. 

If you grew up in an institution, few eventful things happened there. It was all schedule after schedule with only a few exciting things here and there, particularly in the early years. So it was mainly just plain. But October would bloom Jacaranda trees and my heart would get filled with blissful joy.

You would go there, lay down on the soft carpet of purple flowers, close your eyes and you would be transported to someplace else. Into a magical world where everything was rainbows and butterfly wings.

All the sadness, pain, feelings of abandonment, longing and confusion would seem to go away for the moment.

That was a long time ago. But my love for Jacaranda trees has never faded. It grows stronger as time passes and every year, it makes me have a deep longing for October. Of course, some trees bloom much earlier or later but the sky is painted purple in October and this takes me to blissful heaven. 

I recently went to my farm and saw a Jacaranda tree growing. Just one tree. I could recognise even the youngest of its plants. I have no idea who planted it. Maybe it was dropped by accident by a bird or a wild animal. Or the wind dispersed the light seeds.

Just the one tree.

And I looked at it, touched it, leaned on it and smiled. It all came back to me in a rush. It was my life giving it back to me I thought. The bliss of my childhood. The joy and wonderment. The escapism and the love that made my little hands tingle with excitement. 

I can't wait for my baby Jacaranda tree to blossom. I don't know how long it will be. I am nurturing it and I will be as patient as can be. And when it does bloom and the delicate purple flowers will fall, I will place them on the tip of my fingers and goof around like I did twenty-five-plus years ago and relieve the moments. 

And maybe someday when my Jacaranda tree is bigger and the time comes, I can take my children to it and introduce them to my affinity for Jacaranda trees. Tell them the story of my childhood and my immortal love for the mighty tree. The tree that made me love the colour purple. 

And hopefully, that love will go on. 

I even wrote a poem for the wonderful tree. I have also been playing around with melodies in the hope of turning it into a song. 

Oh mighty Jacaranda tree

The sun shines for you

The rain falls for you

The wind blows for you

The river flows for you

The sparrow sings for you

The barn owl hoots for you

The elephant trumpets for you

The lion roars for you

Paint the sky purple oh glorious tree

Turn the ground into your royal throne

You are strong and beautiful

My symbol of joy

My emissary of bliss

My past and my future

You bless and you heal

And my love is always for you

Oh mighty Jacaranda tree!