More Northwest Plants and FlowersFirst published in Wales Haiku Journal, 11 August 2020, under the original title of “Northwest Plants and Flowers.” I’ve added “More” to the title here to pair these nineteen poems with the twenty-three poems in “Northwest Plants and Flowers” (plus three additional poems). I originally wrote all forty-five poems in August of 2009, mostly about Pacific Northwest plants and flowers (a few plants are not native but have been transplanted to the area).
English hawthorn leaves rub against my arm— a ladybug in your hair feeling romantic under the pin oaks by myself red chokeberry in the overpass shadow crumpled lotto ticket black chokeberry for sale at the nursery we leave with nothing purple chokeberry the skywriter’s writing backwards California wax myrtle that neighbour girl who was mean to me purpleleaf ninebark how does she know how much sun I need? the alpine water fern catches my attention when the snake has gone wilted deer fern clipping an interracial kiss on TV as far as I can see in the undergrowth Japanese tassel fern a long putt for par out of soft shield fern the jet contrail gone evergold sedge I forget which way we came on the trail yellow fawn lily a stone on the trail not from here snowy woodrush the gravel foundry ruins now a golf course my hand touches greater woodrush cricket chorus poached egg plant she tells me in her garden isn’t a food planting serviceberry the park ranger talking to herself |