“I love plants. . .glowing in the prairie sunshine…” Cypripedium parviflorum var. pubescens – Greater Yellow Lady's-slipper – is an orchid native to our region, gradually emerging among other welcomed spring ephemerals. (Photo by Nancy North)

Poetry: “Love…” In Springtime

 

I Love Plants

I love plants 

inside, outside, in pots or not 

growing out of cracks in the sidewalk 

clustered together in the woods 

glowing in the prairie sunshine 

quietly they wait for water 

staying put, living, dying

I need them and some of them 

need me

 

I love plants 

sharing our friendship 

in quiet conversation 

I hurt when they dry up 

without them I would dry up 

their tenderness soothes me

their strength inspires me 

quietly they soak up the light 

quietly beside them, I breathe

 

I love plants 

they teach me to go deep

hiding my roots in the dark 

spreading my branches 

as if love is all there is 

as if living itself is enough 

as if near and far are the same 

as if every being has worth 

as if I am enough 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

The Eye of the Storm

I welcome the raging story

as a friend who bursts in –

full of sound and adventure.  

Embracing this wild upheaval, 

my heart is unsettled, 

my troubled mind is moved

to search, to ask, to listen.

From the eye of the storm

quietly, calmly, love arises

whispering “I am still here.”

I hear her, I feel her,

as if for the first time, 

for I have been looking in 

all directions but inward.

Meanwhile, love has been

right here – all along – living 

in the very marrow of my bones.

            © Diane Knight 2024

…………………

 

Contributor

Diane Knight of Lanesboro, Minn. is an artist and poet. She is the author of Putting Down Words, a book of poems and doodles, available at Lanesboro Arts and through Amazon.

To learn more about Diane Knight and her works, check out these Root River Current stories: The University of Diane; Ode To a Bluff Country Artist; Poems By Diane Knight; Rearrange, Begin Again; and Those Darn Feelings.

 

Root River Current’s coverage of literary arts is made possible, in part, by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Southeastern Minnesota Arts Council thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts & cultural heritage fund.