Where Do Genetic Mutations Come From?

Linda Harris Dolan

after the pink peonies die, their heads droop,
petals begin their falling, but for days, days
the flower-heads remain mostly intact, so
when i lift one toward the sun
it unfolds like a cascading fountain
brilliant petals
to the pebbled ground
where they lay
jewel-toned species of their gorgeous own

long after—
long after—