Daffodils in January

On impulse, I buy
a four inch pot,
miniature daffodils,
forced to bloom
in January, a child star
coaxed onto the stage.

Tall, spindly stalks,
little more than thick
blades of grass, heavy
blossoms ready to topple
off the stems like a man
on stilts. 

After a week the petals
wither, turn the brown
of old vellum.  I trim
the yellowed stalks
down to the dirt, intending
to transplant the bulbs
in the earth, but forget.
Spring, summer, fall.
A blade pierces the soil,
casual as a wildflower.

First published in State College Magazine