Following the Botanist Through Cemeteries

In a place where the dead lay
life blossoms
and we spend our days strolling
through this land in search
of orchids

Bernhardt traces flower history
scrawling from northern Australia's
orchids winding
around thick trees
down to the southern tip
where they flourish
in thin soil.
He notes helmet-shaped heads,
sac tuberoids, curled purple
sepals, and slender stems
shooting from untouched earth

I walk behind him
lapping up the Diuris corymbosa,
acianthus, chiloglottism, caudatus
and lilac spilling
from a mouth.
The words, too, roll
from my tongue as I swat away
bees and wasps with pollen-
coagulated fur,
noting how some orchids
spring from shadow

His hand cups
a pale blue head, stem, like liquid,
streaming through fingers.
I give words to the frosty impression
left after Bernhardt's heel tilts
as he kneels to breathe in
the flower's pollen

Light comes washing over us
with nectar on our lips,
orchid roots cracking free
from smooth seeds