Skunk Cabbage
The bloodred cape is the spathe,
sheath for the spadix which generates its own heat,
lures insects to warm themselves then blunder off pollened,
dropping grains that settle in and down.
The fronds of future sheaths and what they'll yield are furled
inside the cabbage, will spike as spears and spiral outward.
What is tomorrow but yesterday's uncurl and some rain,
waft of the stench of decay and what can rise from it?
Marilyn McCabe’s collections of poems include Being Many Seeds, Glass Factory, Perpetual Motion and Rugged Means of Grace. Read more.