Virginia

Windflower, lilac, hyssop –
trisagion of color
planted for the sake
of memory.

Breezes wring anise out
of the blackadder,
send it aloft, a primitive call
to mourners on wings

that pass over our encomium
once, twice, circling
before they land and feed.
They will carry resurrection

with them, as they
drift on the wind,
and your name will live on.