By the Way

C. Dale Young

You are right to point out that the agapanthus（爱情花）

is not a lily, especially to one who so loves

precision, but the agapanthus is also called

"Lily of the Nile," which surely could be seen

as justification for calling it a lily.

I am sure Cleopatra herself never called

this plant agapanthus. And, well, wouldn't one

want to be more like Cleopatra than like

Theophrastus? The Queen of the Nile

would have likely called it a lily, no?

Yes, yes, words have meaning and have power

and all of that stuff. Yes, yes, I of all people

understand the importance of naming.

But if Cleopatra would have called it a lily . . .

Okay, I will stop. You look great, by the way.

But I just want to point out that the agapanthus

is such an odd plant that even botanists

cannot agree on the number of species in the genus,

some saying six, others as many as ten.

Okay, I swear I'll stop. Seriously. Promise.

The windy night air is cold, and the wings

bound along my spine sweaty and bruised,

the long bandages chafing my armpits（腋窝）. Words

have power, my love. You call this winged thing

an angel, but that is not the word I would use for it.