Re-Cognition

Now I know how ol' Tommy
Stearns thought he saw ghosts
that danced in
good writing:

milkweeds are just a bit
wonderful

until one understands
their tricks and stratagems:
they shackle
insect legs:

pollinia— I'd read all
about these and marvelled
at such care,
like art; so

now in spotting a small
denim-winged butterfly
on pink milk
weed flowers

I'll notice the tiny
sack of pollen gripping
a thin and
trembling limb:

there! the stab
of wonder!

In knowing are seeds of
science; but recognition
is the bloom
in umbels.

Copyright © 2007 Daniel Newman All rights reserved
from Vallum
Reprinted by Verse Daily® with permission