Modesty on
the individual level
nevertheless it’s still
self-assertion
a choral mass
by virtue of each
feeble & reedy voice
joined to the next
and then it soars
blood-stemmed
arterial in reach
along every edge
you choose to travel
and some you don’t
ubiquitous at this
time of year but not
to be overlooked
just because slight,
pink & delicate,
underestimate at
your peril this tool
of puck or sprite
whose whole leaf
one day turns florid
kept out of the house
for its plain alias:
death come quickly.