Earlier this morning,
I didn’t notice
you’d replaced
the store-bought carnations,
dyed unnatural colors,
with wild-blooming wisteria
from our neglected garden.
I saw when I left
my screen-lit home office
for the sun-lit kitchen,
the cursor blinking
in the middle of the story.

I should promise
to appreciate
the way tiny purple hearts
drape the crazed glaze
of your mother’s Wedgwood vase,
the budding whiffs of lavender,
that scent the air between us
as we team-cook a rare,
hot breakfast.

I should promise,
for the next few hours,
not to let you garden
alone, not to turn your gift
into a poem.

Claire Massey is particularly interested in eco-themed work. Driver Side Window, her collection of award-winning poetry and prose debuted in October 2022. A former editor for The Emerald Coast Review, she is poetry editor for The Pen Woman magazine.