POEM: A Flowering

The evening primrose returns
in golden splendor every year
on the side of the road
where a sleusie brook flows.
An early face of color
launching spring
and the cycle of blooms
and sprouts we’ll see
through summer.
They take turns as if on stage
for a bow —
coltsfoot, trillium, jack in the pulpit
lily of the valley, phlox, myrtle, chicory, angelica,
solomon’s seal, forget-me-nots, lupines, crown-vetch,
indian paint brush, daisy, black eyed susan, mullein
a rotation that paints the world
in hues that take your breath away.