Dru Philippou
Taos, New Mexico, USA

Old Friends

A volunteer grows among my cucumber vines. Heart-shaped leaves, borne on petioles, seem unfamiliar. The silvery haired stems have a fuzzy feel. I circle the newcomer with stones and provide plenty of water. And, I check it several times a day. Chalice-like blooms of a luminous blue eventually appear.

behind me
mountains rise
silent and shadowed
their small secrets
tucked away

After years of wilderness hiking and observing various bluebells, a pattern begins to emerge: the mountain bluebell, harebell, common bluebell. I learn that phacelia campanularia, native to California, makes its home in southwest deserts.

you kept me company
where I had known the haunts
of every flower
now, I call out
your name again