Planting Wood Phlox

By John I. Blair

Today I planted wood phlox,
My promise to the future
That spring will come again.

There’s a vacant lot along a street
I drive several times a week
Where wood phlox bloom.

They’ve bloomed each March
Ever since I moved to Texas
Half a hundred years ago

And bloomed no doubt
Before I came,
Will be blooming when I’m gone.

They’re not native to this place
So someone must have planted them
On a sunny day like this

In hope of pleasure for themselves
And maybe for their children
In future springtimes.

I wonder if they guessed
That I’d be getting joy
From what they did that day,

That in another century
I’d be planting wood phlox,
Remembering their act of faith.

©2018 John I. Blair, 3/24/2018