Monarch Chronicles

"Weeds grow over the public well.
I loaf in my old clothes. Willow
Branches sway. Flowering trees
Perfume the air..."   – Tu Fu, "Country Cottage"








Night storms have rattled the limbs
from the old oak at the sidewalk corner.
Small twigs litter the garden
in among the dead lily stems.
I pick at the spread of bark
for weeds, pull fresh tree sprouts
and find a new milkweed has risen shoulder
high in the last hot month.
The only of its kind, thick stemmed,
white bubbles suspended
at the velvety leaves like dried cream.
Three leaves have holes eaten in them.
The Monarch in the courtyard
dances along the river breeze.