Green Flowers {to be read aloud --really fast}

phishgod

Green Flowers

The Jack in the pulpit
speaks soft to the skunk cabbage
saying beware the false hellebore,
that yellow mandarin, swirling
on ginseng, singing of
green dragons,
absinthe wormwood
and Mexican-tea,
the little beggar ticks
sitting in the toadshade
singing arrow-arum,
arum arum,
by the greenbriar,
fly-poison or
carrion flower
or hooker’s orchis
like blited strawberry
by the dock,
in the nettles
or clotburs
like so many
fruited
false loose strife
or tumblin’ in
the tumbleweed,
the erect
knockweed
waits by
the sea blite,
or down
by the
water dock,
and sheep sorrel,
(no common
smartweed here)
climbing
false buck wheat
hopes on lamb’s
quarters
naked
miterwort
ditch stonecrop,
the leafy spurge,
the sunny spurge
and mugworts,
those great rag-weeds,
all green. . . .
all green,
green glowers.
--July 2, 1992