Packs of lupins parade through
the ditches, unfazed when cars whip by.
They’re tall, they’re overdressed,
but they own it, looking like Disney
princesses and smelling like pepper.
The day wilts around them,
but still they rise into the near-blue sky,
scaffolds of pink and purple vertebrae,
spine enough for every one of us who hesitates.
Sue Sinclair is the author of six collections of poetry, including her latest book, Almost Beauty: New and Selected Poems.
