Digitalis purpurea

fox glove poem

it was last year
same time
same time as this
the sweet peas were black
by the side of the road
I did not know the fox gloves then

last year
same time
same time as this
I was hidden hidden by the walls
dark red

a long road
lay between us
the hills were burnt black
black the manuka trees
black black the sweet peas
by the side of the road

I did not know the fox gloves then

the throats of the fox gloves
are spotted spotted inside
the black storm has passed
leaving the river yellow & swollen
at the foot of the house

the leaves of the fox gloves
are pale fur
between the hills

I shall never know the river
yet I bathe my head in its waters
walk on its smooth stones

I shall never know the trees that stand on the other side I know only the fox gloves the fox gloves

Christina Conrad