Starflowers

Last night’s rain left pools
Around the patio, and in them,
Florets seemingly peopled
With the dark blue jewels
Of sky: stamens

With corollas of five small sepals
Centered on a hollow spot
Around which stand
Their fluted steeples,
Tiny anthers which together dot

The seascape of a puddle
With random stellar flares,
Baby islands isolated
From the subtle strands
Of xylem, leaf gaps where

Petals will eventually roll
Into grown-up pentagrams
And shoals, planned shoots
From some distant planet,
A zodiac of lobes and roots

(And maybe pomegranate),
Where the symmetries
Of air and water stack
The patio with solar systems
Made from earthly seeds and stems.

June 1st, 2024, Kaiholu