Tulip people aren’t Crocus people.
They don’t tweet out
slapdash signals of spring
at February’s first foray into the 50s.
Tulip people are distinct from the Daffodil crowd—
apart and unmoved, apparently unheralded
by spring’s delirious drum majors
and clamorous countryside.
Tulip people aren’t Hyacinth hipsters
or Snowdrop snobs, nor (forgive me)
are they quite odd enough to
associate with the Amaryllis assortment.
Never late, and rarely early,
Tulip people know who they are
and how to bloom where they are planted.
Tulips do not tell the singular story of Spring—
they don’t tell it loudest or brightest,
or fastest or most fragrantly.
Tulips don’t tell the first story of Spring,
but they do tell it best.
May 2, 2022
Flagstones 