Early spring, vernal equinox
First crocuses, then daffodils
Stately bright tulips, in all colors
Magnolia blossoms, flowering dogwood

Eventually lilacs, peonies, and jack in the pulpits
And before we know it
Violas, bleeding hearts, carnations
And ever so many lilies, all shapes and sizes

Then not so far behind
All the cosmos, pink and white
Soon behind, the pugnacious coneflowers
Standing their ground so galantly

Then ever so close to fall
Come the asters and mums
Who wait an eternity
For the marigolds to sing last songs