Tuesday, February 14, 2012

cordate

cordate \KAWR-deyt\, adjective:


1. Heart-shaped.
2. (Of leaves) heart-shaped, with the attachment at the notched end.


Despite their strong and interlinked root structure, the actual flowers were of a lowly order, though, canted towards the sun, they attracted the cordate butterflies.
-- Brian Wilson Aldiss, Hothouse

Without any wind blowing, the sheer weight of a raindrop, shining in parasitic luxury on a cordate leaf, caused its tip to dip, and what looked like a globule of quicksilver performed a sudden glissando down the center vein, and then, having shed its bright load, the relieved leaf unbent.
-- Vladimir Nabakov, Speak, Memory

Related to core, cordate comes from the Latin word for heart, cor, and the suffix -ate which forms an adjective from a noun.


_________________


I am "in love" with words and the sentence above by Vladimir Nabakov is perfect to me. I suggest it is also a poem, with some line editing by me:


Without any wind blowing,


the sheer weight of a raindrop,


shining in parasitic luxury on a cordate leaf,


caused its tip to dip,


And,


what looked like a globule of quicksilver


performed a sudden glissando down the center vein,


And then,


having shed its bright load,


the relieved leaf


unbent.



Happy Valentine's Day--from anitawrites


2 comments:

considerwriting.com said...

I like the arrangement of your poem. May many cordate shapes come to you today, mostly in chocolate.

Anita C. Fonte said...

I don't know who this is, but thank you for sharing a comment. It's not chocolate but it's still sweet.