Purple tips of Iris emerge
     from among green swords
     oscillating
               in wind too strong for blooms.

We'll move the root stock
     to a sheltering place
     past the Lilac hedge
               where grackles browse...

Mix soil with bone meal
     and decaying manure
     a bed for bulbs
               beneath mulch and wind.

We should get this done
     when the blossoms fade
     before distraction comes
               with summer's calm.

~ Spring 1996