Language of Flowers
men want honeysuckle lips
to eye each leg, arm, breast,
and watch hips
walk away from them
their eyes climb rung by rung,
like trumpet vine
heavy with blossoms
men want a name,
a story, a laugh
voices like sourgrass
and cracked lavender
they don't ask if she is
rose or tulip, if she wants
to be the azalea,
or the delphinium, or
wants sunflowers thrown at her feet
men don’t know the language
of flora and fauna,
they don't know distinctions
between marigold and myrtle,
cruelty and love
