The plants were free and dying
Pushed to the side for any takers
Some just limp leafless stems
So I bundled them home
Because that’s what I do these days  

Maybe I pampered them too much
Maybe it was blasting We Shall Overcome
Or Richie Havens’ Freedom
Or all that Bob Dylan  

One day I had control of the house
The next – instant insurgency
Window sills blooming revolution  

Pansies – those cheery protestors       
Were the first faces to lead the uprising
Overthrowing their humble beginnings      

The Christmas cactus staged a coup
Blooms like birds dashing in all directions  
And it wasn’t even winter  

The orchids, exotic elitists
Thin foreign cigarettes dangling
Anarchy on their pouty lips  

Foxglove fingers raised
In colorful opposition
Declaring diversity  

Roses vined their unrest
Through the laces in my shoes   
Each step a fragrant minefield  

Even the mums have mutinied
Breaking their silence
Like chanting monks  

Just a dull woman
I wander through the rooms
Intoxicated by their rainbow awakening  

Oh my sweet sweet rebels
My fragrant subversions