We walk through these wildflowers
in this sacred prairie
we talk to our ancestors
and listen for their stories
Singing nettles in nature’s nave
thistle, clover, and ironweed
primordial prayers whispered
in wooly ears of drifting seed
Queen Anne’s lace waves and calls,
curls her index finger to you in invitation
dancing blooms into September’s hours
witness the first preservation
Do not hurry, saunter instead
you need not gaze far to be enchanted
Hold space for reverence and wonder
for infinite galaxies live in these fauna
multi-hued tapestries of splendor
golden cattails genuflect as if in Siena
Red-winged blackbirds are soothsayers
gargoyles of maple and walnut trees
weavers pluck their strings like violin players
milkweed a patchwork quilt of bees
Loam breath, explosion of sun prayer
spiritual pilgrim, A la Sainte Terre
No higher calling than steward
her aster lungs breathe
because we left her be
her cloister uncarved, pu in Tao speak
ever-bursting tonic of wildness
spilling over into eyes, lungs, and veins
compass of healing apothecary
chanted in cicadas’ repeated refrains
Cathedral, mosque, synagogue, temple
What could transcend this creation miracle?
This poem first appeared in Cosmic Daffodil Journal (2023).
—
A. M. Hayden is Poet Laureate and Professor for Sinclair College. Her debut collection, American Saunter, released December 2024 (FlowerSong Press). Her first chapbook, How to Tie Tobacco, and second collection, Old World Wings, will be released in 2025 (Wild Ink Publishing). Hayden is a Pushcart Prize nominee and the 2023 River Heron Editor’s Choice Prize winner. She lives with her family and many furry rescue babies, including a very special blind, three-legged pup named Vinny Valentine.
