This poem was originally published in poetrybay, way back in 2004.
It's still available (!) here, if you prefer:
OWL at poetrybay
Enjoy!
OWL
----------------------------------
----------------------------------
Leo of the Rose
are roses lions?
they have manes,
they have claws,
they have eyes that dominate
a quivering life.
they taste blood
that spilled into the earth
and slowly worked its way up
into their drippy mouths.
“death comes back around,” they growl,
stalking in the wind. when someone
snips them and puts them in crystal,
they have caught their favorite prey.
bees are hors d'oeuvres.
storms a libation.
now come the human gazelles
with fancy lopes and gawking necks,
their throats plump with sound—
flighty words
that crumple into tears
much sweeter than rain.
every petal laps
the emotional succulence.
every thorn lunges
into a heart that cowers under thread.
and as it’s always been
the herd flees, leaving the victim
to be devoured by roses.
-------------------------
-------------------------
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
Leo
ReplyDeleteLove the thought of roses (or any flowers) given and left when someone dies to eat away at the mourner. (What I took from this poem, anyway!)
Very poignant. Not sure I would have started it with a question. It led me off in a more light hearted direction. It is a serious poem and deserves a beginning equally weighty as the end.
Just my thoughts. I'll never look at a rose the same again.
pabees
This is very insightful, thank you! This might be the only poem I've ever started off with a question -- it is a skill I should perhaps revisit and rework. In 2004, I was much more fluid with my voice(s).
ReplyDelete