California Buckeye (Aesculus californica)
Sweet clusters of flowers,
white-silver in the twilight,
the moon waking over the valley.
I could drink this bouquet
of blossoms, like bubbles—forming
and finishing in an instant. Come,
let's try to speak before
night's snuffing cap closes over us,
before all is turned to knobbed seeds
the color of horses nuzzling in the barn,
hard pits ready to release
their dangerous weight
in any brisk wind. Let's sit together
while the crinkled petals last.
Workshop leader, tutor, and mom, with roots in spoken word, KATHRYN PETRUCCELLI holds an MA in teaching English language learners. Read more.