Villanelle with Tulips

Villanelle with Tulips

Kate Deimling

They come back like magic,
pushing up through the ground
overnight, like a burst of music.

Soon leaves will part, unfold like fabric;
tomorrow, petals tightly bound,
they come back like magic.

You don’t get this show in the tropics.
Winter’s drab, but spring puts on her gown
overnight, like a burst of music,

for pollen transport—a flashy gimmick
for bees and butterflies that flit around
(they come back like magic).

We’re put to shame by plant logistics.
They’ve got their timing down:
overnight, like a burst of music.

Tulip, crocus, dogwood—with a flick
of a switch, spring turns on the sound:
they come back like magic,
overnight, like a burst of music.

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Kate Deimling
Poet, Writer, & Translator

Kate’s poems have appeared in Slant, Tar River Poetry, Valparaiso Poetry Review, and other magazines. She lives in Brooklyn, New York and is an associate poetry editor for Bracken magazine. Find her online at www.katedeimling.com.

Photography by Matt Baron Thompson