Skunk cabbage rises first in New England woods and freshens the marsh as the first sign of spring.

I found this lovely specimen today.

I fell in fascination with skunk cabbages a year ago in March by taking pictures of them daily. Soon, I discovered a spellbinding article describing the life cycle of a skunk cabbage by Craig Holdrege. Here is an excerpt from an erasure poem I made from his lyrical description of this first plant to awaken in spring woods:

All photos and text copyright Kelly DuMar 2017 unless otherwise attributed