how can it be that the poplar tree

in this season
of its most righteous
blooming beauty
is so toxic to me

the poplar
and the honey locust
so popular with the bees
tender tendrils of scent
wafting through the hollow
on a breeze
make me sneeze

Gratitude List:
1. Nettle and chamomile and plantain tea (and when that doesn’t seem to cut it, an antihistamine to fall back on)
2. Good, caring, professional teachers for our children this past year
3. Catbird and mockingbird: we got some sass here in the holler
4. Those snakes of wild gypsy wind that rushed down the green hill yesterday in the gloaming
5. Dr. Maya Angelou.  Phenomenal Woman.  She contributed so much to our literary and cultural landscape.  Here’s one of the last things she put out to the world: “Listen to yourself and in that quietude you might hear the voice of God.”

May we walk in Beauty!