A lovely lily plant is stretching — arching — curving upwards now

Swan-grace reaching wild toward an imagined, longed-for sky

Easter lily, potted, on the ruddy old brick stair

Thrusting three plump buds out! through slim blue railing gap

Soft green tapered leaves paired perfect, all along long swaying stem

All along, all wrong, so wrong — for, strangely, it's December

And Easter lilies here must bloom in June

A sudden hard freeze forecast for tonight

Snowstorm poised to strike tomorrow

Weather warnings shouting everywhere today

And each day, all day every day, of late

Floods and flames and fearsome falling trees

Freeze-ups, close-downs, drownings, landslides

Outages of power, water, hope

But little lithe green lily doesn't know all that

Mad heat dome magic misinformed

Misled the poor soft verdant thing

And now this muddled lily sees a second spring

Buds out! so sweetly sexy, hopeful

So sadly lost, so dimwit doomed

Blest only in unknowing what's to come.