Bougainvillea Poem by Richard (Narad) Eggenberger

Bougainvillea

The fiery bougainvillea cascades down
The whitewashed walls of luxury hotels
And on the roofs of plain adobe huts
Burns in splendour challenging the sun.
Festive trees are lit with brilliant hues
Reaching towards the dome of heaven's skies.
I have seen urns aglow with purple bracts
Set against the silence of the sea
In Puerta Vallarta and in Cozumel
And Cuernavaca, the flower of Mexico,
Spilling from tall trees in India
Or on a mansion's entryway arranged
In such a burst of brilliance no leaf was seen.
The eye enthralled in rapture strove to hold
Those clouds of pink and gold and orange-red,
If all the world should die from man's abuse
I believe you, bougainvillea, would survive.