Benibana

Iridescent green in the bowl

turning pink when moistened with a brush tip

coloring my lips with the benibana,

in thoughts

alone with you

while safflower blossoms with thorny leaves

turn yellow in the sun

anchored by red,

signaling ripeness.

Life and red

intertwined.

******

In ancient times, in Japan and elsewhere, safflower was prized for the dye it yielded, which could be red or yellow. The red was particularly prized and was used to create a dye for lips and to dye fabrics in graduated shades from pale pink to red. Today, safflowers are grown primarily to produce cooking oil expressed from the seed, but the tradition of celebrating rites of passage in life with the red of beni flowers remains.

I invite you to join me as I explore the seventy-two micro-seasons of the traditional Japanese lunisolar calendar. The poem above is for the micro-season called benibana sakau (紅花栄) Safflowers Bloom, which runs from May 26–30. The link to this and other poems in the series is found here with a Medium subscription. I have also republished several of them on Vocal!

Thank you as always for reading my words. There are always lovely and inspiring comments to read and respond to!

Natalie