perennial

my love is the slow root
deep underground
holding us fast
all unseen

my love is the green
that sprouts fresh and new
eager to revel in unaccustomed space
reaching for light

my love is the crumpled petal
damply unfurled
dewy and bright
face to the sun

my love is the seed that sets
the fruit that blooms
the parachuting dandy-fluff
broadcasting regeneration

my love is the shrivel and wither
the ochres and rust reds
the husk and the scrape
that return to their root to sleep a dream of white