Azaleas, Sonnet from X10 Options

[Larry]

Azaleas

From burgundy to steely grey they bloom
like stars but never sparkle in the night.
Small buds crowd through those galaxies for room
to add their hues. They tax each branch’s might,

infusing bright kaleidoscopes. What task
each bud and flower undertakes in Spring
before new leaves appear! Azaleas mask
their barren limbs with rainbowed shades which bring

a lovely change to brown and dreary space
left by the winter’s chill. I recollect
my time spent twenty years ago. Our place
was wild and gardening was circumspect

but seeds and snips of plants were sown and grew
into an Eden that I never knew.


Thanks Daniel!