First rays of light
falling on pointed red petals
and pinnate leaves
of the desert trumpet;
the glow that reveals
slim blooms of the scarlet bugler,
the breast of the scarlet tanager,
the cap of the red-headed woodpecker,
the calliope hummingbird’s throat;
radiance announcing
the vine maple’s purple-red
polygamous flowers,
growing in clusters,
its smooth, red-brown bark
and paired red seeds.
Each morning let us applaud
the brightness that unfolds
to show the abundance
of all things red:
red bays and red oaks,
red coral, red clover,
red-shafted flickers
and even red pandas,
even red ants.
— Lucille Lang Day
From The Curvature of Blue, first
published in ISLE: Interdisciplinary Studies in Literature and Environment