wildscape. literary journal

Best
by Catherine Kennedy

My friends speak 
of the flowers
that have survived best 
for them this season, summer 
of early rain and late drought—
zinnias, SunPatiens, vincas—
dimple-petaled and pinwheeled,
prismatic and pliant still 
among the stiff, flaxen grass 
of late September.
Effervescence marks 
many a grand finale 
when the end is near.
 
The end is near. 
That is, the nights 
grow cold and lengthen.
Leaves will purge 
their green and trees 
will shed their canopies
more quickly. We are one 
month and one strong storm 
away from looking through 
to the neighbor’s yard.

Who will we say 
has survived it best 
when the spring comes?
Who goes into a season 
of darkness asking 
such a thing?

about the author // Catherine Kennedy