Dave Bonta's poem is built around the many common names of the wild geranium, and it treats each name as a small doorway into looking closely at the plant. Some names point to real features: the pollen is a startling blue, the root was once used to stop bleeding, and the seed pod looks like a bird's head, which fits "Cranesbill." Then the pod bursts, and each seed has a tail that curls and straightens as it pulls itself into a crevice.
The speaker sounds curious and delighted, a little playful too. Midway through, the question "what fool / invented these names?" reads as teasing, since the poem has just used those names to make us see the flower so vividly. The final name, "Shameface," lands on a gentle image: a blush that bees love. The mood is quiet, attentive, and affectionate, with a sense that nature is stranger and more inventive than the labels we give it.