With the loving eye of an amateur botanist, poet Julie Poole has distilled nature to its finest, tender points. Through sections divided by biosphere (rich mesic slope; exotic hay meadow; damp understory), Poole’s poetry gives voice to a meditative expression of flora. Each poem creates an individual cataloged world through which to explore the body, sexuality, strength, and a devout refusal to admit the separation between humans and nature. Inspired by the Billie L. Turner Plant Resources Center at The University of Texas at Austin, the largest herbaria in the Southwestern United States, Bright Specimen weaves together a written index through the harmony of botanical wonder.