When Dioscorides

        When Dioscorides

        two millennia ago

        first plucked you

        from an ancient

        Italian marsh

        as a common mallow

        for coughs and colds

        to his herbal cupboard

        and apothecary bag

        he laid a hand then

        to planting you

        in my south garden

        only yesterday

        Hibiscus: China Rose

        and you are a constant

        performer

        from beyond the lawn

        and a late autumn lyric.

 These poems are from my new collection IN THE APRICOT DARKNESS (view the cover and contents below in my recent posts). They are now being published individually, daily under 'recent posts' on my blog and will be available shortly as an eBook that can be read online or downloaded for free.