There are reasons I love
the fence-climbing rose,
the night-blooming jasmine
you planted beside the front
porch, their scents
emerging in the spring air.
I know I should love
the dark green speedwell,
tiny white watercress,
flat mudwort exposed
on sand bars, in summer
low tides, wapato, yellow
water-flag that scatters hard
mahogany seeds in late
fall, small flowered forget-
me-nots transplanted by the pier,
purple loosestrife, heavy-
headed nodding beggarticks,
bog trefoil, pennyroyal, toad-
rush, cow parsnip, the brief
pink nookta rose of early
May. But enough, these too
are reasons I love your domestic rose, your night-
blooming jasmine settled
by the porch, their scents
gracing the still evening air.
-David FilerPortland, Oregon
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