We bought daffodils for the deer,
planting them with love along the
edge
of the garden, around the old
hostas,
in late fall, a spring surprise for
them, yet
hardly a fit gift for deer who
don’t like daffodils,
just the hostas and lilies and
phlox in my garden,
bountiful meals. But my wife
insisted
and the daffodils came up, yellow
ones
bright against the green of our
lawn, came up
and dropped their flowers, stalks
and leaves
turned brown long before the hostas
grew
and the deer returned to eat their
fill,
our mornings filled with the
nibbled stalks
of hostas, lilies, and phlox
growing tall.
