Encountering Orchids & Poetry Where You Least Expect Them

{Check out the expanded, prose version of this post on Rebelle Society. Here’s the poem that came first: }

We were invited to Jose Raul’s garden
On the edge of a small town in the south of Colombia
(He is a smiling security guard at my sister-in-law’s place)
We walked in to his family’s humble abode
Greeted by dogs, kids, a bunny and a cup of homemade blackberry wine from his lovely wife
He has over 200 species of orchids growing there in a tiny greenhouse
Some microscopic, some medium, some large
One that only blooms once every six years
He’s also a poet, with two published books to boot
Jose Raul the smiling security guard, the hospitable botanist, the published poet
Thank you for showing me your flowers and poems
Thank you for reminding me to drop expectations
Thank you for reminding me not to judge a book by its cover
Thank you
Mil gracias