“Blue Wild Indigo”

“Blue Wild Indigo” by Yvonne Zipter begins:

I have long admired their dark oval bodies,
wagging like chow tongues in the breeze.
Yet for all the pods’ deep bruise of color
it’s the plant’s modest, green elliptical leaves,
with their secret concentration of indican
(tryptophan’s less sleepy cousin),
that yield the dye prized, once, by shamans,
slavers, rag traders, and kings… [continue reading]

Also by Yvonne Zipter at Heron Tree: “For Want of 10 / Righteous Persons,” which you can read here.