They raise their heads to the sky, standing straight and green on their bottoms. The breeze waves them alongside others. Perennial herbaceous bulbiferous geophytes. Part of the Tulipa genus. A crew of showy blooms originally from Persia, hoarded by the Netherlands. Clogs and bonnets. Hot air balloons. I look for their smell. It’s faint and dusty and unripe. Not too yellow. Not too red or white. All magenta. I want to crawl inside and feel what it’s like to coat my limbs in their pollen. But I won’t. Not just yet. Spring only started three weeks ago.
