Day 4

Oh bless the soul

of that poor zealot

first to liken blooms to chastity,

who must have turned his eyes

from both the women

and the flowers –

all he missed:

The regal iris

anchoring

the wedding centerpiece

boldly thrusts his yellow

stamen out

to titillate the bees

and when the

gentle gardener

scents her holy Rose of Sharon,

she sinks her face in

nature’s most superior

ovaries.

In the parlance of the flowers

the hermaphrodite is queen;

the blossom that is

all in one

is “perfect.”

Look it up.

Praise be

that nature puts no stock

in privacy

or we’d overlook

this springtime bacchanal.