Shortia galacifolia, commonly known as Oconee Bells
Michaux called it Shortia
for a London friend, a word
read more than spoken because
white settlers let place and shape
inspire a prettier name,
a rich feel of syllables
rung off the tongue, merging two
cultures for once without blood,
though now so long after those
namegivers have vanished like
what was here, I remember
the Cherokee word, the smooth
surface of its cadence, how
it promised coming water.
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