They take us by surprise, these tall perennials
that jut like hollyhocks above the canopy
of all the rest of usâ€"bright testimonials
to the scale of human possibility.
They come to bloom for every generation,
blazing with extraordinary notions
from the taproots of imaginationâ€"
dazzling us with incandescent visions.
And soon, the things we never thought would happen
start to happen: the solid fences
of reality begin to soften,
crumbling into fables and romancesâ€"
and we turn away from where we've been
to a new place, where light is pouring in.