Tuesday, August 7, 2007

The Red Love Seeds

Red is the symbol of love.
In the south, the Saga Seed Tree buds in Spring.
The red seeds spill from the pods,
scattering on the ground.
Pick them up,
as many as you can,
as if gathering thoughts and memories of those you love.



"Old fashioned as it might sound, I have picked some for king yeung, a small little glass bottle filled with the red saga seeds. It is also well-known by many as the Red Love Seeds. Now it is sitting on the pc table in his room. He told me it is one of the best gift he had ever received and he loves them the most, because of its symbolic meaning."

pohyin



























Saga Tree -
Saga seed is reminiscent of deep emotions and passion and this gift from nature is often used by many as tokens of love and affection; sometimes it's also symbolic of one's earnest heart to apologize.

Singaporean has dedicated a special website for this wonderful tree. Its members shared interesting facts, stories and also locations of the trees in Singapore.

In Segamat, there are only a few saga trees left in a field near Li Chi primary school. I remembered them being there ever since I was very very young. It was perfect evening as I went to the field to pick those lovely seeds. They have brought back a lot of my old childhood memories, carefree and happy, a gentle reminiscence of the time long past.

















Burung kakaktua - All types of birds used to frequent the saga tress in that field, making them their favourite perching grounds.


















In its dried up pods -
The green pods would dry up and burst open, liberating its little red seeds. They looked very pretty peeking from among green grass, waiting to be picked up. Each seed looks so shiny, as if it has been lacquered.



This Chinese poem is written in dedication to this lovely seeds.





















6 comments:

Manjadikuru said...

I was amazed to see this blog post on the red seeds. I have just completed my first feature film and it is called "Lucky Red Seeds", with the seeds touching the same kind of nostalgic magic that you speak about. Please do visit our blog on www.luckyredseeds.blogspot.com

Would you be able to send me a translation of the poem on your website? Also I would love to post the link of the Singaporean website u mentioned.

It is lovely to know that the same gentle thoughts pervade across different countries and cultures... May the magic of the red seeds roll into your lives!

Anjali Menon

Barneymami said...

hi anjali,

i am sorry i didn't reply you earlier. i didn't see your reply coming. but i am glad you find my blog on this particular topic engaging. i was really surprised when i saw your blog talking about the red seeds. different country named it differently. but still the seeds revolved round the same theme.

i wanted to explain to you the meaning of the chinese poem but my pc is very slow today. can't even see the pictures i've posted in my own blog. i'll wrtie you an email again when i am free.

Anonymous said...

Hi Poh Yin,

thanks for the lovely blog :)

I came here by chance, and am wondering if you can share with me how you pasted the music box on the RHS of your blog.
I'll like to do one like that too, if you don't mind.

Look forward to hearing from you? ;)

mylittlediary said...

hi.can i know where you pick those sage seeds. been asking around, hope can get a definite answer. i need them quite urgently. thanks!:D

520Katherine said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
520Katherine said...

Hi friend,

Had read thru about saga seed, really gets me interested about it! :)

May i know singapore season in which month can collect the saga seed?

Looking forward from ur reply :))

Kat