Weeds and Wildflowers
Weeds and Wildflowers When weeds become wildflowers And wildflowers weeds, We vary cultivation According to their needs. Whether hand-transplanted, Or raised from suckled seeds Or broadcast cross’d a lawn, at last, Or cared for, for our needs: They all began as weeds. Lily of the Valley, Mint, Chic’ry, Aster, Cress, On mountain path, by Sandy-soiled bluffs, they’re best, Fertilized by vis’tors by, Cold creek-watered or by the sky, Arbor-shaded place of rest, Adorning critter’s nests: They all began as weeds. When, at last, they propagate, Each spring with surly dew, And spread along the moistish ground, With blazing colors new And present against the richly soiled Black and heaven’s blue, To welcome guests and passers-through, Exclaiming, “I am true!”: They all began as weeds. Adamites, we gave them names, And like Linnaeus, classified. Genus, species, plots, and rows, Gardened, stocked, and stratified. Country square or city park, On a
