peonies
Do you also hurry, half-dressed and barefoot, into the garden,
and softly,
and exclaiming of their dearness,
fill your arms with the white and pink flowers,
with their honeyed heaviness, their lush trembling,
their eagerness
to be wild and perfect for a moment, before they are
nothing, forever?
- Mary Oliver, excerpt from "Peonies" found in New & Selected Poems
Reader Comments (3)
Love peonies. They're late this year and the ones turning up in the grocery store are looking a little sad...
I love that - even Peonies know how to capture the moment...
I love peonies and this poem (and Mary Oliver in general). Mine look like they could burst open any day now.