Flowers, John Lyons (oil on wood)

Dagwood dogwood
whipple-tree
these are but names
conferred over time

We know it by its fruit
by its berries
by its blossom
by its simple
untoothed leaves

The larvae of butterflies
and the engrailed
and emperor moths
feed on it
quail devour its red seeds
a tea made from its bark
can treat pain and fevers

From dogwood
to dogberries
to skull tree
these are but words
fit for poetry

John Lyons