by Kevin T McEneaney
Peonies are not instant protégées.
You will need to get dirt in fingernails,
and possess patience three years ticking
before any satisfaction arrives
to your eyes, or passing, gawking strollers.
It’s fragrant flowers are bisexual.
For overcast nights, they close their petals.
They are hopeless high Carbon 3 addicts.
Over 292 compounds
have been extracted through genteel torture.
If the tip of a bud is castrated,
no new buds will develop that season.
They have single, double, triple versions
of the flowers we all adore with work!
