| SENSE OF PLACE |
IN THE WIND by Nita K. Ritzke
The lilies have bloomed. Their scent breezes into the kitchen from the backyard like kids out of school. Their red-orange C-petals reach down toward where they came from— the fountain of leaves spraying up and arching over the blooms the way my mother leaned over the beds of her five children when we were ill to whisper the strongest medicine. The lilies were transplanted from my mother’s flood-dead gray flower bed and dug up in haste to evacuate memory before her house, our house was sold for salvage. Now, the bouquets overflow the edging of the garden embracing our home.
NITA K. RITZKE grew up in Minot then lived in Fargo, Grand Forks and currently resides in Bismarck. She writes and teaches many types of communication at the University of Mary. She finds inspiration by daydreaming with her dog Mojo and interacting with those who find poetry in everyday life.
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