Spring

What did Mother see 

when she said "peonies"?

I failed to press her

on that point.

She pointed out creation.

I wanted to create 

my silver flute uncrate.

Have you heard

the word "create" pronounced

"crate"?

I laugh then get to work.

What did mother teach

after the petals fell?

She taught me brushing off

the tired blooms turned ash.

The color still deserving

a still life.

What did Mother know

of the yellow eyes of daffodils

that Wordsworth herded,

called a host? I savored

firmness like that.

I relished flowers without names.

Deliberately mis-memorized

both Latin and the English names.

I knew their scent, then I forgot.

What did Mother say into the phone

to her sister before dying alone

in the house in spring?

And why did my mother die in spring,

and why alone in the house

for two days before being found.

Why did the long-distance phone 

keep ringing when I daily called?

How did she die with heart

exhausted just before the crocus

found its way to face the sky?