"The Spring Raid" by John Grey

The Spring Raid

Bright white petals, escapees from Eden —
snip snip. Lovers loot the yarrow.
And the butter-and-eggs, the wood sorrel,
or anything violet, or tawny-orange or red.
They take from the widespread meadows
for such narrow purpose, to bestow upon
some kittenish young woman,
a bouquet of uprooted wildflowers.
I was one of them once, raiding the fields,
pulling and plucking, manhandling Spring.
I handed them shyly to a pretty blonde
whose name I can never remember.
She smiled and placed them in water.
They were already dead but lovely for all that.
And how delicately she delayed the inevitable.

John Grey

John Grey is an Australian poet and U.S. resident, recently published in Penumbra, Poetry Salzburg Review, and Hollins Critic. His latest books, Leaves On Pages and Memory Outside the Head, are available through Amazon. Work is upcoming in Lana Turner and International Poetry Review.

Headshot: Gale Grey

Photo Credit: Staff