Tag Archives: Leslie Schult Poetry

April 13, 2025 Context for Poem “One of a Kind”

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Photo: Karla Schultz

The botanical term that inspired this poem, “monotype,” does not appear in the poem. Exploring its meaning, however, made me think of how we are able to see the uniqueness of those people (and situations and locations and objects, too) that are important to us. It especially takes time and attention to perceive the deep individuality that marks each person. And then, despite a consistent core, he or she keeps growing and changing!

Today’s poem is dedicated to my sister, Karla. Today is her birthday. Her life is a gift to everyone who knows her. Among her many virtues, as some of you long-time readers know, she is an exceptional photographer of the natural world. (To see past posts that feature her photography, you can search on “Karla Schultz WinonaMedia”.) The photographs in this post are all from her. I want to thank her for allowing me to share her artistic gifts with you.

LESLIE

Photo: Karla Schultz
Photo: Karla Schultz
Photo: Karla Schultz
Photo: Karla Schultz

April 6, 2025 Context for Poems “Sometimes Love” and “Just After Dawn”

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Photo: Leslie Schultz “Union Terrace–UW-Madison”

The botanical term for today is “filiform” which (again!) is derived from Latin, this one from the word for “thread.” It is related to the word “filament.” I fell in love with its sound. Immediately, it made me think of spider webs–not botanical or accurate–(although I see that late Latin used the verb “filare”, meaning “to spin”). Now, I suspect, the spider web will join with “filiform” in a persistent association for me. And it offered me a chance to share again some favorite images from past posts.

Today, after “catching” two slight poems, small webs of words, I needed to disentangle myself.

It is sunny here and will be warm and lovely. The house is quiet. It seems like the perfect time to tackle those self-renewing sticky indoor spider webs that old houses simply generate without permission or cessation, and also to ply some thread in the borders of a small wall quilt that I am finishing.

(Photo: Leslie Schultz Window–Winchester Mystery House, San Jose, California)
(Photo: Karla Schultz Dewy Web)
(Photo: Leslie Schultz Spider Web, Winchester Mystery House, San Jose, California)
(Photo: Leslie Schultz, Frozen Web, Our House)

Wishing you a happy Sunday!

April 4, 2025 Context for the Poem “Delta”

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Today’s prompt was a word that I knew but did not know was a botanical term: “Deltoid”. I have never quite noticed how the cottonwood tree produces triangular leaves, or that the veins on the leaves resemble the mouths of the world’s great rivers.

That word and context made me think of the triangle, the delta shape, and from there to memories along the Mississippi River.

April 3, 2025 Context for Poem “Autumn Artifacts”

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Another borrowing a few hundred years ago into English from Latin, the adjective “coriaceous” is deemed a “botanical nerd word” by the Toronto Botanical Garden. (In Latin, “corium” means “leather.”) How does this animal terms mix it up with the plant world? It is another metaphorical seed contained within the word itself. Think of the stiff and tough leaves of waterlilies or rhododendrons or oak leaves. Even tougher and stiffer after a long winter on the ground. The oak leaves pictured blew onto our patio this week, all bronzy and gleaming. They are beautiful in their own way, but we are ready for the soft greens of early spring so they seem to me distinctly out of season.

More on “Bracts”: According to my friend, Bob Bensen, bracts are modified leaves often thought of as flower parts. But they are leaves that are often a sign of flowers to come. Thanks, Bob!

April 2, 2025 Context for Poem “Collars”

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Nicholas Hilliard (English, 1547- 1619). An Unknown Woman, aged 26, 1593. Watercolour on vellum stuck onto a playing card; 5.8 x 4.8 cm. London: Victoria and Albert Museum

Detail: Anthony van Dyck (Dutch, 1599-1641). Henri II de Lorraine, 1634. Oil on canvas; 204.6 x 123.8 cm. Washington DC: National Gallery of Art, 1947.14.1. Gift of Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney. Source: National Gallery of Art

John Witherspoon, an 18th-century Presbyterian minister, wearing preaching bands

The “Dissent Collar” worn by Ruth Bader Ginsburg, now in the Smithsonian

Today’s poem, “Collars,” was sparked by thinking about the botanical structures that support and decorate certain flowers. To me, these petal/leaf ruffs suggested collars, and that got me to wonder how collars have evolved.

About today’s word: Though I had guessed it was of German or Dutch derivation, I now understand that “bract” came into English in the 18th century from the Latin word bractea, which means “plate of metal.” I am still a little uncertain about which flowers sports petals rather than bracts, as well as how that determination is made. It seems that it depends upon location–bracts below and supporting petals/flowers–and often–but not always–in terms of texture and color, with bracts being more leaflike and a bit sturdier. Both petals and bracts can use color to attract pollinators, though. Today, I am content to recognize that bracts and petals are different but perhaps complementary structures, and to know that whatever they are called I find them both beautiful.

Dogwood, Calaway Gardens, 2011 (photo: Karla Schultz)

(Above, a gorgeous image of bracts by my sister, Karla)

(Two images of bracts–waterlilies in Bog Lake, Minnesota–2022)