Humans think me simple—
think they can name me
and all my parts
as if I’m style, anther, filament—
pretty face and all the rest—
their words—peduncle.
I am so much more than that—
than disk and petal, etc., etc.—
as I raise myself to greet the sun
and say hello to water,
butterfly—bee & bird & rain—
to soil
and to bow to wind
and close myself at rest
to let in darkened skies
before I shake myself—
of stars—take care—
of what is life.
Lynne Goldsmith
Lynne Goldsmith’s first poetry collection, Secondary Cicatrices, won seven honors. By Light and Hidden Matter is her latest poetry collection. Two of her children’s picture books each won an honor and two of her photos in the 2022 Nature Conservancy International Photography Contest of over 100,000 entries were picked as judges’ “Favorites” (nonwinning) in the climate and plants/fungi categories. Lynne also has another photo published with Tiny Seed Literary Journal that’s soon to be published in their upcoming book anthology.