W h i t e

Cimicifuga
   still in bloom - even though the
        calendar says mid-November.
   It's startlingly sweet fragrance
        commands attention.

When the breeze is just so . . .
   neighbors walk over into our
        garden to
   seek what
        smells that way.

Baneberry's reddish stalks,
   adorned with white eyes and
        tiny black pupils,
   appear to be on the search for
        their former neighbors -

   recently frost-bitten.

Plants with ever-new potential -
        but, at least for now,
    calmly await

        the white flakes of winter.

The Eyes Have It

Thunbergia along the
edges of a Kenyan
jungle where corn
fields adjoin
wilderness.

Peering from
within wild places -
yellow eyes with
dark pupils
return my gaze,
staring back at me.

Each year, I plant
the Thunbergia vines
in the deck planter.
A reminder
of beautiful flowers
in beautiful
places.