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Bougainvillea
Bougainvillier - الجهنمية
Description
Known for its spectacular display of color, this climbing plant takes its name from the eighteenth-century French explorer Louis Antoine de Boungainville, who led the first French expedition around the globe and ‘discovered’ the plant in Brazil. The Arabic name - which shares the same root as the name for hell - suggests the fiery effect of this plant. And what are thought to be flowers are in fact modified leaves: the correct term for them is colored bracts.
In the 1930s and 40s, the property was surrounded by bougainvillea. All the street-side fences were planted with bougainvillea for two reasons: their decorative appeal and their thorns, which provided protection from intruders. Today, a majestic bougainvillea stands alongside the eucalyptus tree near the car park, 4 meters above the ground.
Poem
The Oak and the Vine
(Or in this case the cypress and the bougainvillea)
The garlands of the wild and reckless vine,
Intertwined with the branches of an old wise oak,
Seem to carry, in one mighty embrace
The landscape and the sky.
Happy to combine the oak’s loyalty To the charms of the summer vines
That twirl and dance so gracefully through The solemnity of its greenery.
One dainty and airy, with playful fantasy,
The other robust and matter of fact, Together they become both poetry and wisdom,
Wisdom and poetry.
The sturdy oak supports the gentle and weak vine,
The supple tender vine embraces the tough trunk,
And each completes the other, just like intertwined
Lovers aiming for the stars.
The oak, so masculine, the vine, so feminine
Form such a complete and harmonious couple We take example and let our souls Be inspired.
Their different colours and shapes,
Their unique leaves and fruits Without the need for any words or action
Teach the intolerant Man to wonder;
To live, to thrive and prosper,
Like this simple and serene couple,
Under the celestial vault
Is to welcome the Other.
On the corner of every hill and field They join in saintly fashion the garland to the pillar,
Delivering nature’s simple message
Of absolute hospitality.
Behold and contemplate my love
These grapevines and acorns that grow hand in hand ;
Their peaceful union consecrated in nature’s immense temple,
Transforms the Mountain.
From the pure miracle of loving one’s neighbour
They show the possibility
For kinship in diversity
For all of mankind!…
January 1940
Published in La Montagne Parfumée. Éditions de le Revue Phénicienne, 2004.
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A Place of Refuge
Close to home, away from the urban din
Is a place I love to go to when
Life is hard and I yearn for peace;
This little spot brings me solace.
Here, with no friends but the beautiful trees,
The evening becomes an infinite wonder:
With the birds’ melodious chirping
And the flowers’ bright hues spilling on the white marble.
Here, in these enclosed grounds
Crowded with more souls than in town
I get to taste the happiness of the afterlife.
For in the depths of the earth, people lie calm;
Hatreds and feuds are forgotten
The mortals are dead…and fight no more!
June 1959
Published in La Planète Éxaltée. Collections “Poetic Works” Volume 7, Éditions de le Revue Phénicienne, 2004.
