she could no longer resist

they called to her, drew her in with their beauty,
their delicate faces, the gentle slopes of their necks
the fragrance, she breathed in deep
and could not walk away

so finally, she brought them home

the black petunias
three shades of pink begonias
sherbet zinnias and rusty marigold seeds

they raked the water into the dusty water barrel

it's like baking,

her daughter said

as the dry dirt mixed with lifegiving water the three pronged fork stirring the batter

we need more water baby

the watering can refilled, they troweled holes large enough for the root balls

she gently released them from the starter pots and her daughter set them in place, they tucked the root balls into the moistened soil and tamped down with their fingers.

a moment of tenderness in an otherwise distant day of school and work. that they could kneel together around this one planter and enact the sacrament of sowing, was evidence of a turning in their lives.

she mixed the seeds in an amaryllis teacup her neighbor had just presented her with, and her daughter scattered the seeds before they watered again.

to keep the cats at bay, they upturned tomato cages around the tender plantings.

they would bloom, the bees will come, the beauty of spring was irresistible