Postcards to the Other Brown Girl in My Weightlifting Class by Tarfia Faizullah
"I do not want / to give myself—I want to be stem, / stamen, petal, not blossom, not bloom—"
Transformation by Adam Zagajewski
"I’ve lived humbly, reading the paper, / pondering the riddle of power / and the reasons for obedience."
Sunflowers by Jenny George
"Having died / all the way back to the root, I grow again / into a version of the thing I love"
Orchids Are Sprouting From the Floorboards by Kaveh Akbar
"The cat mews orchids from his mouth. / His whiskers are also orchids. / The grass is sprouting orchids. / It is becoming mostly orchids."
Most Days I Want to Live by Gabrielle Calvocoressi
"And I said, / Then, gosh. What’s the point? / The flowers themselves, / I suppose."
The Round by Stanley Kunitz
"this morning I saw light kiss / the silk of the roses / A curious gladness shook me"