Today’s quest found me
seeking the Holy Grail,
though floral in form.
Yellowish-greens danced
on the breeze like dainty skirts.
Not the ones I sought.
Red stamens on one
dangled from the second tier.
Not the ones I sought.
Three distinct edges
of the capsule formed below.
Not the ones I sought.
More yellow tinges
on anthers hanging under.
Not the ones I sought.
Birds ready to fly
with wings a deep magenta.
Not the ones I sought.
At long last the stairs
Leading to the palace door.
Not the ones I sought.
Two more sets of stairs
But the palace door still closed.
Not the ones I sought.
Five sets of stairs checked,
each time the palace locked.
No shoes of gold here.
At last more steps climbed
and the palace doors opened.
My search had ended.
Uncommon in Maine,
the Holy Grail I sought.
Spring ephemeral.
Behold the gold shoe.
A showy forest orchid.
This Lady’s Slipper.
P.S. Thanks to Parker, Carol, and Ursula for sharing these flowers with me on past tramps we’ve shared.
wondermyway 
Are those ever pretty!
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Yep. Not in your neighborhood, M?
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We have only the white.
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Interesting, as pink is the predominate color here, with white as a variant. Yellow is said to prefer dry to mesic forests, but it’s the latter’s boggy sites where I’ve seen them. Always a thrill. I only know of these few places. And have only seen Showy Lady’s Slippers once at one place north of here.
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Beauty 🥀💞🦋💞
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Thanks Carol..
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Beautiful! what a lucky sighting! (And I love this poem/quest/blog post!)
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Thanks Andrea. It was an attempt at something different.
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