The Hydrangeas Never Bloomed Last Year

Jason de Koff

Hydrangeas and Swallow. 1833. Katsushika Hokusai.

The hydrangeas never bloomed last year
as if they knew they’d go unnoticed.
The supple stems burst forth with green
from which lush canopy arose.
The large, wrinkled leaves still captured
the fresh morning elixir before dawn
and guided the way down well-worn paths
to tightrope stems and gnarled roots below.
They continued to bask in golden glows
and wave and bow to passers-by,
but this was not the time for buds
to form and shine on cue
or showy displays for worried eyes
with inward focus and indoor lives.
Instead they waited, steadfastly silent,
storing life beneath the ground
so that this spring their flowers
will shoot their firework fury
to celebrate what was lost before
and the future’s new-found glory.

Jason de Koff is an associate professor of agronomy and soil science at Tennessee State University. He lives in Nashville, TN with his wife, Jaclyn, and his two daughters, Tegan and Maizie. He has published in a number of scientific journals, and has over 80 poems published or forthcoming in literary journals over the last year.