“I LOVE ME SOME POUI”

I had always loved a poui tree especially the yellow variety. I remember that

there was a pink poui tree outside of the School Hall at Bishop Anstey High

School. I got to enjoy that tree long after leaving school because as a member

of the Lydian Singers, we used to practice in the School Hall three times a

week.

The poui is one of Trinidad and Tobago’s iconic and spectacular flowering

trees. The yellow and the pink varieties are common in the country but some

years ago, someone told me that there is also a while variety that I could see

close to the Movie Town Mall. When I was in undergraduate at the St.

Augustine Campus, the blooming of the poui trees signified that exams were

around the corner and it was time to start “hitting the books!”

I really love to look up at the mountains during the flowering season to see the

brilliant golden canopies peeping through the verdant green hillsides. When in

bloom, these trees are so beautiful and they give me a sense of peace and I

know where to drive to find some of them such as along the highway from

Macoya, in the Macoya Industrial Estate, El Dorado West Secondary School

Grounds and in front of St. Augustine Girls High School. I remember the late

Pat Bishop, my mentor, talking to me about poui trees and asking me if I knew

where some of them were. I love the poui tree so much that when we moved

to our new home, twenty five years ago, I attempted to grow one in a pot…but

it didn’t survive.

In recent years, I have deliberately gotten someone to go with me to pick poui

flowers for my tablescape. Let the truth be told, sometimes one has to use a

rod or climb the tree to get a beautiful bloom. They don’t last very long once

they are cut, so we have to go late in the evening before or early morning on

Sunday! To me the poui bloom signifies that there is hope and a new day is

dawning. It is a time of renewal. It is “of tropic beauty rare”. I really love me

some poui!

Enjoy the pictures from over the years!