Wood Violets

My earliest memories of joy

Contained flowers

Wood violets and apple blossoms

Dandelions and clover

Lilacs and hibiscus

Hyacinth and irises

And a million wildflowers

Whose names I never learned

Open fields of them

Kissed by golden sunlight

Or tucked away near forest streams

Among fallen leaves and branches

And dappled in greenish light

The heady floral scents

Rivaled the overpowering smells

Of my many sisters' pungent perfumes

They dabbed on synthetic scents

Trying to smell the sweetest

But it was me the bees bothered

From my hours spent reading

In fields of wildflowers

Or beneath trees of blooming apple blossom

It wasn't uncommon to see me

Book in hand, reading

Sprawled out among the flowers

With a wreath of clover on my head

Or violets in my hair

I spent so much time among the flowers

I was known to make people sneeze

These flowers were my childhood joy

Each spring on my birthday

I'd pick bursting bouquets

Of these flowers

Violets and lilacs especially

All I wanted on that day

Was to bring all that joy indoors

And I haven't changed at all since then

I'm still a flower child today