out-of-state flower

2002-07-15 - 4:59 p.m.

Black-eyed susans are in raucous bloom outside my office. State flower of that place I still call home despite the fact that I don't live there anymore. I keep trying to stop that habit, but to no avail. Crossing the Susquehanna on my way down 95 South always makes me smile and feel welcomed. But the flowers are a welcome touch today. They've taken over the carefully-planted gardens, growing taller than everything else, and infringing upon the smaller flowers. They are wild and bold, sun-like and make me happy.

When I was little we got black-eyed susans in our backyard every year, though we never planted them. They started in our neighbor's yard and quickly made their way through the fence and into our yard. They were strong enough to make it, unlike the violets that always suffered under my father's lawnmower.

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