Here’s Stephanie’s poem “Blaze of Yellow”, published in the 2022 issue of Florence Poets Society’s journal Silkworm:
Blaze of Yellow
The bearded irises in full bloom
announce your birth
on a steamy June morning
Planted a century ago
these descendants hug
the fieldstone foundation
of this grande dame
We’re moving-on my knees
with trowel in hand
green bucket by my side
I wrench from the dirt
the sturdiest irises–
how can I leave them behind?
In the new backyard they languish
in the pail until spring
As I scan the scarred site of our new home–
still under construction–my hope
for their survival withers along with
their shriveled root hairs
In March I gather rocks
purchase compost and soil
in the shelter of tall pines
as old as these orphaned irises
prepare a new garden
The following weekend
your two-year-old hands
reach with mine to
tuck them into soft soil
At the edge of the
moon-shaped bed
a blaze of yellow will rise
Links to Stephanie’s recently published writing include:
Stephanie Shafran 