Fall is when gardens act out,
Their crops bodacious.
Sedum’s soft florets make landing pads
for bumblebees that dazzle the Solidago.
Anemones outlast Buddleias.
Viburnums change colors.
Ageratum, always promiscuous,
flaunts its nakedness
with flashes of white panties.
Asters, no longer sissies,
sport purple eye-shade.
Aconitum promises sure death
for its next victims.
Sunflower and zinnias defy the calendar.
The garden will not quit.
It’s as if it says:
We have five months to kill,
let’s throw a party.
Dance outrageous.
This article was published originally in 2023, in GreenPrints Issue #135.
