Bleeding Heart

Its scientific name is Dicentra Spectabilis.
Di means “two,” centra means “spurs,”
      and spectabilis means, not surprisingly, “spectacular.”
We who are not scientists refer to this flower as a bleeding heart.
Its shape is that of a heart that has been split open at the bottom.
Something resembling a teardrop dangles from inside.
And within that whiteness lies a smaller drop of red,
      hinting, some say, of blood.
In referring to this winsome flower, writers of gardening books
      turn to adjectives like this: “enchanting,” “magical,” “graceful,” and “dainty.”
Personally I think the scientific name is more accurate: spectabilis.
Spectacular.
Spectacular in its design.
How did that amazing shape ever come to be,
      and to be repeated time after time?
Spectacular in its appearance.
How did it assume those wonderfully vibrant colors, that lacey texture?
Spectacular in its being.
Why did such a glorious thing ever come to grace this planet
      for me to behold in a garden park one morning in May?
This photograph reminds me that I’m still waiting for my answers.