The Pulitzer Prize winner rarely comments on my poems, but once I sent him a list of wildflowers I had seen while climbing in the Cascades. He responded that it was the best “poem” I had ever written, stating that the beautiful words for flowers were all that mattered:
columbia lewisia
glacier lilies
orange agoseris
I continue submitting lists of plants, trees, birds, and herbs to various poetry journals, but so far all I receive are rejections. One critic described my poet friend as a “trickster.” I’m not sure what she meant.
still climbing
beyond the summit
of cold mountain
only his poems
left behind
- by John Budan