Perennials

my divorcee I see you young
in a bridal gown
eyes kissed shut like buds
on reprieve

back in milwaukee
my mother taught me how to buy flowers
how to check the leaves
how to seek out sturdy plants with closed blooms
how to pinch off dead blooms early

I see you
a black-eyed susan
painted white as a daisy for the day
tall with open blooms beautiful
but with chewed leaves
and rampant ants deep in the soil

still he takes you
though i know you will baffle him
despite fertilizer and insecticide
you will not take root in his garden