Resilience

I had thought them dead, the azaleas out front,

bloomless last year after frigid cold

and scorching heat, their deadwood branches brittle,

their mass shrunken substantially, but now it seems–

thanks to pine mulch, peat, and fertilizer–

they might resurrect–the Danish word

is genoplive, to repeat living–new growth

leafed in a brighter green, magenta buds

ready to burst open if springtime joy’s permitted,

with the songs of nesting wrens their heralds.

Copyright 2024

T. Allen Culpepper