A flower for Holy Week

Bleeding Heart.

“Abruptly it unblossoms

And disappears, though among

The first of the spring –

Tulips worn out with blooming

After only the second year, daffodils

Inexplicably nothing

But a vigor of leaves, a frailty

Of azaleas – among the first of the spring

The short-lived Bleeding Heart

Is certain, I can count on it.’’

-- From “Bleeding Heart,’’ by Mark Doty, a distinguished poet and former resident of Provincetown who now lives on Long Island.