Falling Apart like a Magnolia
We shed our organs after they’ve served
our purpose: bud scales after bud burst,
petals after pollination, leaves before winter.
Scars are glyphs, spiraling precisely
in each floral axis, tracing the stamens
that shed their pollen, abscise, then fall
into the embrace of petal-like organs.
Below the stamen scars, the scars
of creamy tepals -- no misspelling.
Last, coiled, dispersed by wind,
dried-up brown stigmas like cut curls,
once alive as snakes on a god-head.
Is this not a beautiful way to decay?
Emily Wheeler is a freelance copy editor and, until her recent move to Cape Cod, was docent at the Arnold Arboretum. Read more.