Day Lilies

Gentle fingertips pluck the lily from a tall stalk.
With lines and spots, a map of joy and stress
On cheeks turned up toward the sun
Dottie follows the thin web down into foliage
Specks of brilliant green spiders try to dodge detection.
A pink plastic Easter egg missed by grandchildren
Reveals its hiding place among the leaves.
Within are two shiny quarters. Cool.

Dottie examines the six perfectly shaped petals
Green throat, now maroon, now cantaloupe, now butter yellow
With all stamens sporting dress shoes dusted in pollen
And one pistol, bulbous and sticky, protrudes.
This flower lasts just one day but deserves a moment of respect
Its perfection never duplicated.
This one gets the nod - - the admiration.

Soon Dottie moves on
To those more mundane details of the day
Bills, papers to grade, correspondence
Plans for the weekend, the month, the lifetime ahead

Tomorrow another lily will bloom.
It may rain
Droplets that scar fragile petals
Or sun too hot
Could scorch and wither them
One day to bloom and flaunt
Attract, pollinate, and germinate
Twenty-four hours – a lifetime – no time
For the mundane details of
A tedious life.