two flowers
one near, the other far
of one heart
(These are flowers of the michaela alba tree. It has large glossy green leaves, growing to 16” or more with jade-white, magnolia-like flowers that are extremely fragrant. This time of year, the Fort Washington State Park nearby has many of these trees which are native to China, where they are known by the names: yu lan hua or yulania. That’s like my name! When I was a young girl, my father told me that in China daughters were given names of flowers in the hopes that they would grow to be beautiful.)
