Viola Tricolor

There’s a picture from the night,
That looks like Johnny Jump ups
Blossomed in a patch of space,

But we won’t tell you which patch.
Is there another flower
With such a suspect number

Of vividly suggestive
Folk names in English? Heartsease,
Pansy, tickle-my-fancy,

Heart’s delight, pink of my john,
Come-and-cuddle-me, Jack-
Jump-up-and-kiss-me, love-in-

Idleness, love-lies-bleeding—
Edible herbal, tincture,
Literary quackery,

Potion, and figure of speech—
Invasive, ubiquitous
Across large swathes of the world—

It’s too much for one flower,
One admittedly pretty,
More-or-less tasty blossom.

If you start spotting its face
(Its three-faces-in-a-hood)
In brilliant patches of space,

No telling which words you’ll make
Dance as hyphenated names.
We won’t whisper where to look.