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 -