Early Meadow-Rue

This entry is part 10 of 29 in the series Wildflower Poems

 

Early Meadow-rue by Jennifer Schlick
Early Meadow-rue by Jennifer Schlick (click to see larger)

Thalictrum dioicum

Dioicum: separate houses.
Here the male
& there the female.

Clouds rise from the male plant
& dangle yellow weather.
From the female plant,
ten-fingered hands stretch
in all directions.

Without scent or nectar,
what flying thing will be
their go-between?
There’s only the wind.

But this meadow-rue
has abandoned the meadow,
so it must flower early or
the canopy will close
& the wind
will retire to the treetops.

Quicksilver-weed.
The leaves aren’t even
open all the way,
& already the male flowers
are vanishing

into the fertile household
of the earth.

Series Navigation← False Solomon’s SealDutchman’s Breeches →

5 Replies to “Early Meadow-Rue”

      1. I don’t know that one so the allusion was lost on me, conscious or otherwise. I love when those unconscious allusions crop up in my own writing, though. Nice surprises, usually.

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