Bought on a whim at the store, their aroma perfumes our home – 
nectar with a hint of cayenne – a scent that takes me back to childhood 
when they grew in mom’s lily garden below a stone wall in the back yard, 
tall stems of them among Turkish Cap, Gentle Shepherd, and other varieties, 
buds that happened to mature each year in the middle of summer 
right as the Perseid shower began: petals opening on a humid night, 
and upturned blossoms watching meteors streak across the sky.