Hands hidden behind his back,
halo of sweat beading on his brow,
dimples framing his ladybug lips,
swimming pools sparkling below coal lashes,
he tiptoes toward me.
“Guess what I have.”

He doesn’t know
moments ago
I spotted him
through an open window,
prancing around the backyard,
scouting for sparse bursts of color,
henbit tickling his toes,
crabgrass caressing his roly-poly knees.

Extending his arm,
cherub fingers choking dainty dandelion stems,
he rejoices, “Pretty flowers!”
A benediction.

With grace
I help him place
the bouquet in a juice glass atop the altar of the kitchen table.
Golden pedals crown emerald wisps lounging in a crystal cradle.

In reverence
of innocence
I whisper a prayer.
“May he always find beauty where
some of us never look.”

---

Reflections on Writing “Weeds”

On a Saturday afternoon in June as I was working on my personal narrative, I heard the backdoor open. Then, I spied Harry wandering around the backyard, looking for the only “flowers” there — the dandelions he frequently picks for me. Minutes later, he appeared in the doorway with his hands behind his back. As I expressed my appreciation and admired his enthusiasm, I decided this was one of those moments I had to capture with a picture … and a poem.

After sharing the poem with my writing group, I deleted a few words as Jason suggested and divided a long line into two as DeAnna recommended. I then posted “Weeds” on the E-Anthology where I received a little food for thought and a lot of kind words in response to the poem.

In January 2010, I entered “Weeds” in OWP’s annual Write to Win contest, and it won the teacher poetry competition. It is published in the 2010 anthology of winning writers.