The Darling Buds – Lily

we smuggled tiger lilies

when we moved

confidently planting our

flags of vibrant triumph

in new fertile soil

 

less triumphant

we bought the next ones

local – adapted to the climate

of somewhere that was not

our garden

friends got involved – determined

by honor to share a hundred years

of survival and vibrancy that made

excellent mulch

it was our honor to announce

that really

we only liked day

lilies anyways

Lily – Honor

Every May (and sometimes into June), I do a series of poems based on Victorian flower meanings. Welcome to the Darling Buds.

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For more honor (and even more Honor), my fantasy novel, The Guests of Honor, is available here. Its sequel, With Honor Intact, can be found here.

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The Darling Buds- Geranium

This is not

a poem about roses

even though I tried to grow

them – too cold

they said and I closed my

ears and grabbed more

shovels

the third dead rose bush

only provided mulch

for the fourth

 

digging up is hard

 

when I found myself watching late

night infomercials and taking

notes on magical growth remedies I

took a deep breath

and spoke to my

mother

I try to pretend that the

geraniums

don’t look smug

Geranium- Stupidity

Every May (and sometimes into June), I do a series of poems based on Victorian flower meanings. Welcome to the Darling Buds.

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For more stupidity (and occasional genius), my fantasy novel, The Guests of Honor, is available here. Its sequel, With Honor Intact, can be found here.

 

The Darling Buds – Violet

there is always an uneasy truce

between

small black cats who

love flowers almost as much

as making closed doors open

and our larger dreams of rich blossoms

and unshattered pottery

watch

wait

black cats with patience

smokelike

emerging triumphant

curled behind the locked

door in a pot

of african violets

Violet – Watchfulness

Every May (and sometimes into June), I do a series of poems based on Victorian flower meanings. Welcome to the Darling Buds.

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For more watchfulness (or lack of watchfulness), my fantasy novel, The Guests of Honor, is available here. Its sequel, With Honor Intact, can be found here.

The Darling Buds- Gladiolus

When my grandmother grew too

everything

to garden

we would sneak into her yard and

carefully plant flowers that would

appear miraculously

when she looked out her window

we became ambitious – not

just the instant blooms but an

entire spread of bulbs to outwait

the cold in her bones and heart

in spring

there was nothing

only the tunnels of fat voles

rich on our

generosity

Gladiolus – Generosity

Every May (and sometimes into June), I do a series of poems based on Victorian flower meanings. Welcome to the Darling Buds.

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For more generosity (and lack of generosity), my fantasy novel, The Guests of Honor, is available here. Its sequel, With Honor Intact, can be found here.

The Darling Buds – Begonia

at the edge of sleep

the fine line of morning

blossoms unfurl gently

dreaming of the taste of summer

dreaming of the brush of snow

Begonia – A Fanciful Nature

Every May (and sometimes into June), I do a series of poems based on Victorian flower meanings. Welcome to the Darling Buds.

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For more flights of fancy, my fantasy novel, The Guests of Honor, is available here. Its sequel, With Honor Intact, can be found here.

The Darling Buds – Sunflower

At the edges of the mountains

the bones of old pulleys

graves of dead sluices

are piled underneath layers

of rockfall and regrowth

machinery of the gold-that-wasn’t

the people with fools’ dreams

left nothing of themselves

sometimes though

in the skeletons of old cabins

we children were never meant

to find

we would pull out old sunflower labels

from under the floorboards

the only gold that

any of us ever

found

Sunflower – False Riches

Every May, I do a series of poems based on Victorian flower meanings. Welcome to the Darling Buds.

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For more deceptive treasure, my fantasy novel, The Guests of Honor, is available here. Its sequel, With Honor Intact, can be found here.

The Darling Buds – Primrose

The burnt timbers of the basement

were overgrown with grass and

alder but still her garden remained

amidst the encroaching forest

that last piece of the tame world

she had left

of visions of tea and gentle

conversation a burst of

defiant colour of bold

order spreading in the shadow

of a chaos she had never

chosen

Primrose – Woman

Every May, I do a series of poems based on Victorian flower meanings. Welcome to the Darling Buds.

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For more women and persistence of women, my fantasy novel, The Guests of Honor, is available here. Its sequel, With Honor Intact, can be found here.

The Darling Buds – Spring Crocus

As a small child

I did not understand

the connection between

the cold bulbs deeply buried as

the fall died

and the vibrant burst of life

as spring fought free of

the snow

all I knew was that

as the sun warmed

the world was painted fresh

and I could lie amongst the new

life and be

glad

Spring Crocus – Youthful Gladness

Every May, I do a series of poems based on Victorian flower meanings. Welcome to the Darling Buds.

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For more youthful energy, my fantasy novel, The Guests of Honor, is available here. Its sequel, With Honor Intact, can be found here.

The Darling Buds – Forget Me Not

Does the land remember

what came before?

there were forests here once

and after them fields

this little corner now that is

filled with small flowers

how short is the life

of that garden

compared to all of the land’s forms

and yet-

a thousand years from now

maybe this small part of the world

will dream of blue flowers

and be at peace

Forget-Me-Not: Memories

Every May (and sometimes into June), I do a series of poems based on Victorian flower meanings. Welcome to the Darling Buds.

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For more memories and persistence, my fantasy novel, The Guests of Honor, is available here. Its sequel, With Honor Intact, can be found here.

The Darling Buds – Cherry Blossoms

Each spring is a classroom

every growing thing shyly emerging

to be taught

the air rich with the scent of learning

of new growth finding

water and sun and sky

hair thick with cherry blossoms

each spring wipes away the old year

and teaches us

hope

Cherry Blossoms – Education

Every May, I do a series of poems based on Victorian flower meanings. Welcome to the Darling Buds.

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For more hope and learning, my fantasy novel, The Guests of Honor, is available here. Its sequel, With Honor Intact, can be found here.