Twined autumn orchids
- Cattleya Orchid and Three Brazilian Hummingbirds, Martin Johnson Heade
An experience we will all have
Is to stand over a dead body
Whether we’re close to the person or not
And notice that the dead person,
Cold and still, have lost, along with their breath
And spirit, their color.
Maybe you won’t ask why that is
but the thought and touch will remain in your mind
For a very long time.
The change is called pallor mortis
And its effect is most prominent in fairer-skinned people
Though it still happens to those with dark skin.
If you’re close to the dark-skinned person
You can tell that the blood has stopped running
Through their body and face,
And has instead settled into a still pool
Of red and purple in their legs and toes
Even with the artificial coloring used to make them look alive.
A loss of color after death is not exclusive to humans.
It happens in other animals and plants.
Plants especially signal their oncoming death
Through this transformation.
Even brown plants become a duller brown,
The color and shade of death.
There are at least at least 20,000 species
And around 100,000 artificial hybrids of orchids.
Though they have a reputation as being difficult —
For example, they do not grow on soil,
But instead attach to the sides of trees and on branches —
With so many kinds and their well-known adaptability,
There are some orchids that are easy to grow and care for.
You can have an orchid for many years.
I bought Blue Watercolor Orchids
Which are artificial, since dye is injected into the stem
To give the petals their brilliant gradient coloring.
Like all cut flowers, they were dying when I bought them.
Each following morning, I watched them lose their color little by little.
A friend came over and said that I should tie them by their stems
And hang them upside down, in a dry place.
After about a month, they should be dried out.
This way, they can keep their color even after they die.
There is a glass vase with dried out orchids
By my living room window, facing the street.
Each day I sit and work at my desk
And look at these flowers that have died
But never lose their color.