My leaves a series of prayers,
fitted jointly together,
equidistant, lifted up unto the Most High—
Bulbous, maybe,
but bound about by a delicate green,
enclosing a crisp yet mild heart—
Single-rooted in the dark earth,
thick with its secrets,
deep in the thought of growing.
Ellen Kartchner Gregory was born and raised in southeastern Arizona. She now lives with her husband and their five children in southeastern Idaho, where they garden, cook, eat, and hike.
