forsythia’s petal rays
in sunburst bloom
warm the landscape
Replenished
joy made tangible
those tender greens
make my heart sing
On The North Side
shade shelters the cold
allowing winter to persist
between pickets and pines
Keeping
pickets bravely attempt
to keep the sunshine
in the winter yard
Balance
Oh to be
a snowflake
balanced on a branch
set in place by grace
residing in a sacred place
Other Snow
fragile and fleeting
blossoms like snow
Sweet Slumber
the iris have been sent to bed
beneath a blanket of maple red
Fly Away
the growing season
takes flight
on an asparagus feather
Before
a flower
before the season for flowers
blossom of seeds
Last Song
late blooms sing
a yellow serenade
to summer and her sunshine
Sunlit
a grace note
of autumn light
plays upon the lily pond
Insomnia
before the toad
is ready to retire
the garden is put to bed
Carrying the Torch
as the sun retreats
yellow petaled flowers
carry the torch for summer’s shine
Who?
what berry be this
so boldly red
in its dead fern bed
Stalked
the mighty squash
produces a stem
solid as a trunk
Shroud
iris is cloaked
in the spider’s shroud
to be seen again
on their spring resurrection
Captive
the cloisonné center of helenium
captivates the grasshopper
nothing escapes beauty’s grasp
Late Bloom
delphinium unfurls
a final wave of blue
summer’s sendoff
Potent
tiny deadly maiden
outstretched arms
await her prey
Hedgerow
Fall must climb
a fence of color
to steal away summer
Stroll Garden
at the end
of the path
of quiet contemplation
the cows graze
Full
pink cloud
the lily blooms
filling the sky
Red Bug White flower
true bug can tells no lies
your garage and siding
is where he likes to hide
Turn, Turn, Turn
hydrangea turns
becoming and beaconing
the season’s change
Names
I did not know
the flower’s name
but she knew mine
Gloriosa
mars orbits the garden
with her hydrangea and coneflower moons
a galaxy of blooms
Millinery
leopard skin
turks cap
guises of the lily
Grasshopper
on the pebble path
a pause
to merge and rest
Sage
the sage knows
the only time
is now
Flower Fowl
clutch of blooms
hens and chicks
cluck in colors