Milk Pod

Rigid and dimpled,

Ready to burst its seam,

The milkweed pod

Evolved from blossom to bank of life

In summer heat

And felt the cool relief

Of soft days the color of gray eclipses

As the cool of autumn whispers 

An invitation to release

A promise into the quiet air

Again and again

To burst open

Into the wind

Seeds that will alight the wind

On feather parachutes

To carry forth 

The promise of life 

Food for the monarch and bee

At once feather soft and sticky

The abundance of seeds

Would defy the odds 

Of predators, progress, and bad luck

To expand their reach.

I watched the milk pod in real time

As my mother’s life waned.

I saw her in the flower

And understood,

We are nothing 

Without the breeze.