Kathleen Kirk

LATE BLOOMERS

Finally, in August, the tall yellow marigold
is willing to open itself
to wonder. It's no use holding back
if we are meant to unfold.
Likewise, wild carrot,
also once so shy, reveals
its delicate white lace, secretly spun,
and at the center of each circle,
a drop of blood.

Let me claim it now,
wild things and tame,
we are in love with each other,
and we are the same.

Kathleen Kirk has appeared previously in Stirring, and in a number of print and online journals, including blossombones, Confrontation, Poems & Plays, and wicked alice. She is the poetry editor for Escape Into Life, and she blogs at Wait! I Have a Blog?!.