Hybrids

by William Ogden Haynes

In 1975 Walter Jablonski hybridized a daylily and gave it a hybrid name as well, ‘Stella de Oro.’  Stella is Italian for ‘star’ and de Oro in Spanish means ‘of gold.’

Yesterday, my wife dug

sixteen holes for her

Stella de Oros just before

an approaching storm.

It’s a good time to plant,

because rain will welcome

the daylilies to their new home.

The gardeners call it watering in,

when soil from the root ball in the pot

comingles with the dirt in the yard

and becomes one with the landscape.

Down here in the south, the Stellas

will grace the yard, playing

their yellow trumpets all summer long.

And we, as Michiganders transplanted

to Alabama some forty years ago,

will thrive as well, even though

this red clay will never

accept us as its own.

WILLIAM OGDEN HAYNES is a poet and author of short fiction from Alabama who was born in Michigan and grew up a military brat.  His first book of poetry entitled Points of Interest appeared in 2012 and a second collection of poetry and short stories Uncommon Pursuits was published in 2013.  Both are available on Amazon in Kindle and paperback.  He has also published over ninety poems and short stories in literary journals and his work has been anthologized multiple times.