Poetry | “Love…” In Springtime

By Diane Knight, March 24, 2025

“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)

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

An original “doodle” drawing with watercolor. (Artwork by Diane Knight)

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.

Root River Current’s coverage of the 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.

Contributor

Diane Knight

Diane Knight is an artist and poet who believes everyone can be an artist. “All of us can create, at every age,” she says. “It looks different for each person, from a little child arranging colorful rocks to young people and adults painting, crafting, doing needlework, dancing, writing, singing. There are so many ways to create. Even cooking is an art form.” Diane has lived in the Whalan, MN area since 1991. She is a visual artist and author of Putting Down Words, a book of poems and doodles available at Lanesboro Arts and through Amazon.