What a strange, odd thing to travel 2,000 miles over the earth’s curve, all in the piece of one day. We began in that incredibly quiet hour between 1 and 2 a..m., standing in my parents’ kitchen, drinking coffee with the tenor of silliness that early hour deserves.
For a just a moment we stood outside in the New Mexico rural dark, under the unsurpassable beauty of the constellations and the Milky Way’s arch, and then our contemporary travels began by Subaru, by shuttle, by sandals running through an airport, by plane and by Toyota, and finally home to bare feet in the garden, where I ate tart radishes.
Modern miracles, all of this locomotion. But at the journey’s end was the greater wonder: our rows of lilacs — lavender and deep violet, pearly double-blossoms — all in bloom, ineffably scented — breathe in, breathe in — humming with pollinators, quietly going about their business.
You are brighter than apples,Sweeter than tulips,You are the great flood of our soulsBursting above the leaf-shapes of our hearts,You are the smell of all Summers…
Stony Soil Vermont 
Great post 🙂
Welcome back to lilac paradise. A few lupines popping here too. Peonies next. xo
I wanted to let you know how much I enjoy your writing. I am a mother with a daughter household and it is such a special relationship and it’s so nice to see writing that echos that particularly. Also I have never really read poetry, but I love the poetry you include and I have realized that I do enjoy poetry – and also, so funny – as I read the piece you included today I immediately thought “that is exactly how I feel about my daughter!” – only to realize at the end that it was in honor of lilacs – ha! Which I have only seen once in my life, an intrepid southern lady librarian I lived with post-college managed to keep one alive, spindly, only a few blossoms but still such a miracle in this hot, humid place.
Thank you so much for writing in! One of the most interesting things about writing a blog is connecting with people I otherwise never would have met. What a surprise — although so obvious I suppose — to think of a world without lilacs. I laughed at one point when I read this comment, too — even better. 🙂