Hellebores
planting hellebores
in claggy earth
sprinkled rainwater
and benisons murmured
for life against the odds
green shoots
shot through brindled soil
clay pierced by tine on tine—
this winter’s oil
unframed
unsigned
the mourning
the mystery
dark indigo
and the war
one war anyway
two years old today
no peace is grown
in this ground
from false helleborines
Edinburgh, 24 February 2024