On the porch
overlooking Willow
Park, the July
sun sits high above.
It’s not the parsley
that’s bolted. The cilantro
has decided not to grow its
decidedly green leaves.
Instead, I witness pale yellow
and pink leaves sprout
delicate, inedible flowers.
We should have pruned
this plant before the heat
wave arrived. Or better
yet, moved her to the
shade.
We did everything right:
put cilantro seeds in soil
in a deep pot, covered them
with a quarter inch of soil,
let them grow until about
two inches tall. We kept
the soil damp but not soaked,
week to week. Her leaves
huddled close together, a self
sustained warding of the sun.
But we could not pluck
the flowers. Instead, we let
them grow until light green
pods emerged. And after
one hundred twenty days, we
pinched at her stems. We
wrapped the dried flowers in
gently knotted paper bags
and hung them upside down,
she gave us light brown
husks containing coriander
seeds to try again next year.
