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Stealing Flowers from the Neighbors | Sherri Levine

Writer: IPM Team
IPM Team
May 21
1 min read
A photo of flowers being held out from the larger bush they're on by a human hand. Overlaid is a poem titled "Stealing Flowers from the Neighbors" by Sherri Levine. It reads "No dark sunglasses, no hood over my head, / no scissors, shopping bag slung over my shoulder, // I slide behind bushes, pricked by brambles, / yank and snap, rip and tear. // No worry or rush, / or hush from the birds. // Squirrels, too busy collecting nuts, / don't stop on the lawn to judge. // Dandelion seeds fill the air like dust. / A silent sneeze, a cough caught in my throat, // I crawl under towering weeds / and hedges, wedge myself // between rocks and prickly thorns. / I do not feel the scraping of my knees // or the bee sting, burn of the sun / on my cheeks, heat on my hatless head. // Stealing flowers from the neighbors / I could only think of you in your hospice bed, // your weary head, / waiting for me to appear."

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we invite you to use it as a starting point to create your own poem.


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This poem was included in IPM's May 2026 Newsletter.

Access the full Newsletter here.

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