Caraganas

Scraggly hedges
with drought-bitten gaps
outlined a multitude
of prairie farmyards.
One year after Daddy trimmed ours
we fished the leafy boughs
from the top of the slide
with poles and string
discovering yet another reason
caraganas
with their tea-party-sized pods
and suckable sweet blossoms
ranked as the most beautiful of trees.

By Violet Nesdoly