getting there
Years ago I planted a little patch of fritillaria beside my back door, because I love the flowers with their checkerboard pattern, and I love the name with its checkerboard sound, and because I am a sucker for words–I fall in love with them. And so this patch of flowers, that only last for a week or two in spring and aren’t stunningly beautiful but rather, interesting, was there for years,
but now there is just this one.
Because my dog, the one we have had for two years, not the one we had before that who knew how to use the paths in my garden, but this one, the one we have now, always, always chooses the path of least resistance, always takes the shortest distance between two points, and this means that the straight line he runs from the back field to our back door goes right through my patch of fritillaria.
And now it is no longer a patch but a path
and there is only just this one,
but how I love its checkerboard pattern
how I love its subtle posture
and how I love, love, love that word.
April 26th, 2010 at 12:01 pm
that interesting plant makes my eyes and mouth smile in tandem. i had a dog once who seemed absolutely allergic to paths, so i went to thrift shops and bought bird cages to enclose (and thus protect) plants the aforementioned canine was rapidly adding to the endangered species list. made for an interesting yard, i must say.
April 26th, 2010 at 12:54 pm
what an interesting flower. you should plant more in another location (far from the beaten path!) 🙂
April 26th, 2010 at 2:27 pm
What a beautiful post, Mrs. M. It literally gave me chills… I don’t know why! Maybe it’s because I love words too and you sing them out so beautifully in this blog – my favorite blog, by the way.
April 26th, 2010 at 5:52 pm
i love this flower….and it’s name !
and feel like i live in a cave having never heard of it before.
and the photo you took of it….swoon !
April 27th, 2010 at 7:59 am
Gorgeous flower!
April 27th, 2010 at 9:06 pm
ahhh, this is a piece of life as poetry/life rushing by. fabulous, fabulous post. such writing, mrs. m. – this is how you hooked me. i thank you for that.
April 28th, 2010 at 8:24 am
and how i love love love the way you write.
i had never heard of that flower. it’s always a pleasure to go to someone’s blog and learn something new. that i have done, today.