The Goldenrod
initially goes unnoticed in our overrun garden,
just one of this summer’s many squatters.
Last year I would have yanked it from the ground,
shaken dirt from the roots,
and thrown it on the compost pile.
This year I tend to my cancer-stricken wife instead,
offer up ice water in sweaty glasses,
fried eggs,
lightly buttered toast.
Brush past the plant on my trips to the grocery store,
the pharmacy.
Until its yellow flowers resemble streaks of crackling fireworks
and I stop for the showy display.
Stay for the honeybees,
anointed with pollen,
leaning into the fragrant blossoms.
Reinvigorated by their tireless dedication.
Corey D. Cook's sixth chapbook, Junk Drawer, was published by Finishing Line Press in 2022. His poems have recently appeared in Duck Head Journal, Muddy River Poetry Review, Naugatuck River Review, Nixes Mate Review, and South Florida Poetry Review. Corey lives in East Thetford, Vermont.