Snapdragons follow the smooth curves
of the garden’s edge. White, yellow,
peach and a pink which darkens
then verges into crimson.
"Tahiti Mix" read the tag wedged in
the speckled earth of the nursery flat.
As spring fleshes out to summer,
they spread in waves which
break along a grass beach.
Caressed by a tropical breeze,
I welcome these bright islanders
now settled in my foreign soil.
Their jeweled heads bob
atop the wavecrests 
and with their odd faces
lifted up full to the sun,
they promise to stay all season.

From The Grace of Light (Finishing Line Press, 2004).
This poem first appeared in Pleasant Living Magazine.
Used here with the author’s permission.