Member Poem

Before the thawing of the snow,

before the rills and freshets flow,

I’ll generate an urgent heat,

draw a breath of swamp mist, greet

late winter’s quietude, and grow.

My spathe will reek like a long-dead doe,

enticing bees and flesh-flies. Oh,

I’ll warm their wings and frozen feet
   
before the thaw!

While they, with buoyant blitheness, strow

my pollen, roots will spread below

the mud, brown leaves, and rimy sheet,

and cling like fingers in concrete.

No petals? Still, I’ll steal the show
   
before the thaw!

____________________________

(Originally appeared in Victorian Violet Press,
later in The Society of Classical Poets)