Trillium flowers smell sweet and exotic,
native to the forest canopy.
Partial shade and shadow grow them best.

They can take up to ten years to blossom.

The first time I ever saw them
I felt it was a miracle.
A gift from God.

I knew every inch of that property
and had never seen them grow there before.
I was cautious, unsure if they were poisonous.

My neighbor would know.
She worked in forestry.

We children called to her until she came out by the fence
and we showed her our discovery.

She told us that’s called trillium.
See? They have the tri leaves and petals.
That means three. Trillium means three.

She told us not to pick them
because they may never grow in the same spot twice.

We touched their leaves delicately
and danced around them without trampling.

Every spring,
I go up into the forest
to find them again
and witness them.