The Planting

by Karen McAferty Morris

I wanted to say that it hurt to watch the daffodil bulbs
we were planting disappear into the cold Alabama clay
even though I know they need the dark months to prepare
for bursting out into the spring like soft yellow banners
proclaiming another season of leaf, blossom, and fruit.
And I have seen them washing down mountain hillsides
when icy March winds kept me watching from the car.
Why today’s burial should bother me more than seed
planted in warmth, I can’t explain. So I said nothing
except how splendid they would look on our rocky ledge
and how glad they would be to awaken in the sun.


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Karen McAferty Morris loves poetry for its ability to lift both the heart and mind to discoveries, connections and, ultimately, comfort. She is Poetry Editor of the National League of American Pen Women’s magazine The Pen Woman. Her chapbook Elemental was published in April 2018, followed by Confluence in May 2020. She lives in the Florida panhandle and north Alabama.