followed his mint craze just like a young Beethoven 
took up Mozart’s baton. Untended pink and purple
 chalices still polka-dot the stone wall they were meant 
to cloak. Striated blooms climb, wind with confidence— 
they neither reap nor sow—and with more gusto 
than my clouded mind can muster. Their wisdom 
for me: a moment beyond worries, a moment 
that wishes to root me even as winds whip my day.