Wild Mullein, Verbascum thapsus. Soda Creek, B.C. July 11, 2014.
A Flower of Mullein
I am too near, too clear a thing for you,
A flower of mullein in a crack of wall,
The villagers half see, or not at all;
Part of the weather, like the wind or dew.
You love to pluck the different, and find
Stuff for your joy in cloudy loveliness;
You love to fumble at a door, and guess
At some strange happening that may wait behind.
Yet life is full of tricks, and it is plain,
That men drift back to some worn field or roof,
To grip at comfort in a room, a stair;
To warm themselves at some flower down a lane:
You, too, may long, grown tired of the aloof,
For the sweet surety of the common air.
Lizette Woodworth Reese ~ Selected Poems, 1926
Verbascum thapsiforme. Hill Farm, Macalister, B.C. July 14, 2014.
Moth Mullein, Verbascum blattaria albiflorum. Hill Farm, Macalister, B.C. July 14, 2014.
Leaves & Pages 
Thanks. Delighted to have found your nourishing blog. I’ll explore further. Regards from Thom at the immortal jukebox ( plugged in now … Some poetry as well as music).
Oh, wow, Thom – awesome blog! Much exploration to be done over with you as well. 🙂 Thanks so much.
Nice poem — lovely flowers!
Yes – isn’t that a nice poem? Too good not to share. 🙂
I always greatly enjoy finding botanical references in poetry and prose; occasionally I include snippets in my “professional” writing on our nursery website and the occasional periodical plant-related article I am commissioned to write.
I had just been out photographing various mulleins, and it all seemed to fall together…