Bleeding Heart.
“Abruptly it unblossoms
And disappears, though among
The first of the spring –
Tulips worn out with blooming
After only the second year, daffodils
Inexplicably nothing
But a vigor of leaves, a frailty
Of azaleas – among the first of the spring
The short-lived Bleeding Heart
Is certain, I can count on it.’’
-- From “Bleeding Heart,’’ by Mark Doty, a distinguished poet and former resident of Provincetown who now lives on Long Island.
