So this above image is what the page for the symbol of the hibiscus looks like in my little Symbol Dictionary.
It’s a bit confusing. But this is part of what I’m trying to unpack with this particular symbol.
Basically, there is the hibiscus in full bloom: like the frangipani, it is often used in media as a symbol for the exotic, island holiday life.
I zoomed in close. I had waited for weeks for this bloom from the bush in my garden. The plant is straggling but continues to bloom even though the temperatures have now plummeted. The flower petals are thin and crinkly. The colours luminous.
And then, just a very short time later, the bloom has shrivelled and browned, decayed.
We have to look close, and quick, for the hibiscus’s beauty is extremely fleeting.