and clawed you
you brought him back to the alcoholic
foster returned him like a defective blender
and I cried while you let out the breath
you’d been holding for those six days of maybes
the next day I bought pots of Sweet William
I dug the plants into the boxes that hang
off our deck and patted little bowls
into the dirt around the stems
I wanted them to talk to me but gardeners
recommend deheading
to encourage further flowering
Floriology is a means of cryptological communication
through the language of flowers
something I don’t know how to make out
but ever since I learned that lilies mean
death I haven’t liked the smell of them
many Victorians carried floral dictionaries
because gifts of flower arrangements were used
to send messages which could not be spoken aloud
the mimosa flower for example represents chastity
I doubt many of those were sent around
the meaning of Sweet William is contested
the Victorian dictionary lists its definition
as gallantry while others say it represents the phrase