The azaleas, this year without leaves,
are all lip and bone.
Feminine of azaleos, the word
means dry.
Old lore says to plant beans
during a waxing moon.
But first sit naked
in the garden at night.
If you sink or for a minute settle,
almost sprout, it’s time to plant.
So I go naked beneath my plaid robe
and bend to sniff the soil.
The azaleas urge: toe the mulch,
unbutton your knees and squat.
After five months of winter, to be alone
with such possibility.
