In Praise of the Ordinary, by Margarita Engle

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Selection 9 of

In Praise of the Ordinary

by Margarita Engle

Lily-of-the-Nile
such a familiar blossom
until I pronounce
the exotic name out loud.

Vanilla, the least imaginative flavor
until I remember the tropical gardens
where I have seen wild vanilla orchids
climbing, the long seedpods
unimaginably fragrant.

Sitting in the car
on a spring morning, going nowhere
sunlight is enough.

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