Sunday, March 23, 2014

Today's Sermon



BY THE WAY

You are right to point out that the agapanthus
is not a lily, especially to one who so loves 

precision, but the agapanthus is also called 

"Lily of the Nile," which surely could be seen 

as justification for calling it a lily.

I am sure Cleopatra herself never called 

this plant agapanthus. And, well, wouldn't one 

want to be more like Cleopatra than like 

Theophrastus? The Queen of the Nile 

would have likely called it a lily, no?

Yes, yes, words have meaning and have power

and all of that stuff. Yes, yes, I of all people 

understand the importance of naming. 

But if Cleopatra would have called it a lily . . . 

Okay, I will stop. You look great, by the way.

But I just want to point out that the agapanthus 

is such an odd plant that even botanists 

cannot agree on the number of species in the genus, 

some saying six, others as many as ten. 

Okay, I swear I'll stop. Seriously. Promise.

The windy night air is cold, and the wings 

bound along my spine sweaty and bruised, 

the long bandages chafing my armpits. Words 

have power, my love. You call this winged thing 

an angel, but that is not the word I would use for it.

~ C. DALE YOUNG, 1969 - 

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