June 2016
Martin Willitts Jr
mwillitts01@yahoo.com
mwillitts01@yahoo.com
I have seen all of these plants and identified them all. They are all part of plants discovered by the Lewis and Clark Expedition. My great-great ancestor knew both men, and the Willet bird (a plover near California) is named after my ancestor. I am trying to write these beginning like field notes, then making my own insights. My most recent full-length collection, "How to Be Silent" is inspired by the ecstatic poets.
Blue Elderberry (Sambucus glauca)
bluish-black,
excellent in jelly,
sky drooling from my mouth
I see blueness
quite pleasant
although red elder is toxic
Native Americans used this plant
to treat sore or swollen limbs; head
aches; relief from pain and swelling;
and antiseptic washes
I could wash away the world with these berries
all my aches would ebb
my breath would be blue jays & hollyhock
come closer and observe
bluish-black,
excellent in jelly,
sky drooling from my mouth
I see blueness
quite pleasant
although red elder is toxic
Native Americans used this plant
to treat sore or swollen limbs; head
aches; relief from pain and swelling;
and antiseptic washes
I could wash away the world with these berries
all my aches would ebb
my breath would be blue jays & hollyhock
come closer and observe
Purple Wake-Robin (Trillium petrolatum)
sometimes called Purple Trillium; or, Stinking-Benjamin
a solitary flower
with an unpleasant odor rising
above a whorl of three broadly ovate,
diamond-shaped leaves
petals are maroon, or reddish brown;
sepals green as a robin's song waking
fruit is oval,
a reddish berry
I inspect with robin's eyes
herbalists use this ill-scented plant
to cure gangrene,
since they believed
plants were used to alleviate
the ailments they resembled
like the robin's nest between your legs
like the diamond-shaped leaves I open
the maroon seed between my fingers
the way your eyes become robin eggs
when I take it in my beak
becomes the purple screams of birds in flight
I am not solitary again
because you are awakened
sometimes called Purple Trillium; or, Stinking-Benjamin
a solitary flower
with an unpleasant odor rising
above a whorl of three broadly ovate,
diamond-shaped leaves
petals are maroon, or reddish brown;
sepals green as a robin's song waking
fruit is oval,
a reddish berry
I inspect with robin's eyes
herbalists use this ill-scented plant
to cure gangrene,
since they believed
plants were used to alleviate
the ailments they resembled
like the robin's nest between your legs
like the diamond-shaped leaves I open
the maroon seed between my fingers
the way your eyes become robin eggs
when I take it in my beak
becomes the purple screams of birds in flight
I am not solitary again
because you are awakened
Salmonberry (Rubus spectabilis)
also known as Cloudberry, Yellowberry, and Baked Apple Berry
an amber-yellow relative
of the raspberry
oh spawn on my tongue,
oh leap in my streams,
go against the current
defy gravity
follow ambition & drive
flow tart
eat out of hand
swim in preserves and liqueurs
so I can go crazy drunk with you
be a yellow cloud
be light-orange when young
be what I cannot be
salmon eggs
American Silverberry (Elaeagnus commutata)
also known as Wild Olive, or Wolf Willow
a twiggy shrub
narrow as first sun on horizon
silvery, scurfy leaves
on grayish red branches
it reminds me of a cat's fur when scared
as lightening approaches quickly
small clusters of inconspicuous,
cone-shaped flowers
spicily perfumed with a heavy, sweet scent,
it reminds me of my wife after a lilac bath
the fruit is a dry, mealy, a whitish berry,
I do not recommend it
although joining my wife
does approach my mind as cat paws
Wilcox's Beardtongue (Penstemon wilcoxii)
one to several
narrow stems
rise in cluster
with long and
elliptical
blue to purple flowers,
with a pale throat
and yellow hairs,
bristles of beard
tonguing excuses
a stretch of truth
a reason for lateness
men making sense
out of nonsense
women disbelieving
the distance between
is remarkable
pronounced
unforgivable
lengthening as shadows of time
broadening with each lie
thick as a thicket
thick as thieves
one might say
thick as tongues full of lies
bristling
one to several
narrow stems
rise in cluster
with long and
elliptical
blue to purple flowers,
with a pale throat
and yellow hairs,
bristles of beard
tonguing excuses
a stretch of truth
a reason for lateness
men making sense
out of nonsense
women disbelieving
the distance between
is remarkable
pronounced
unforgivable
lengthening as shadows of time
broadening with each lie
thick as a thicket
thick as thieves
one might say
thick as tongues full of lies
bristling
©2016 Martin Willitts Jr