one clear drop clings where thorns align~
a fragile sign the storms resign;
it holds the desert’s brief design,
a moment caught on silver cactus spine.
Parts of me are deep as the seas
Black when mad green when envious
Blue when sad and lacking love’s liquor
There was a time when in yellow youth
I sang satin songs with a silver silky voice
How naive I was to believe in denim dreams
Then red heart beat boisterously brown
And you couldn’t tell me music wasn’t it
That I’d not be a star some distant day
Then beautiful life happened and I grew
Desires changed as well as violet virtues
For mahogany motherhood is full of stars
Stars who create church hymns as lullabies
And original purple praise dances at
Babies firsts the first smiles steps words
I learned that only two men would ever
Love
Me
My God and
My
Son who is indeed my sun
The journey of my inner soul has been
Eye opening and full of lessons
Licorice lessons in black love
Lemon lessons in loss
Lavender lessons in peach patience
I no longer grow turquoise taller in height
But in spirit in mind perhaps
A little more wise
The desert that is my love life
Has a beautiful cactus flower
That only God can touch
I am content
White wails of weeping willows
Winding in the blue breeze
Like lover hoping for heart’s hero
A lifeguard for the passionate sea
Failed relationships create creatures
Some salty some sour some sweet
You are the red rose with features
A thorny tongue meant to deceive
To appear hazel harder and tougher
Than is your true tender blue heart
Overcompensating for past lover
Satin smile hides your cherry scars
What tells you’re still a red romantic
Is the light behind your emerald eyes
The quiet way you purple panic
When bluff is called by the perfect guy
Fairytales may be only in books
And life isn’t always so grand
You are read in one look
By a man who understands
Thorny tongue’s kiss is sweet
Despite its first green reveal
Sour and mysteriously tricky
Until you found love the real deal
Cactus stand guard in the desert heat,
their shadows trembling on pale sand,
silence holding its breath.
Brutal sun aggresses the desert.
Sand dunes far as I can see.
Suddenly appears a cactus flower.
A vision not a mirage.
AP: Honorable Mention 2025
Cactus needs no fence, No need reins to donkey, Rich needs no degree.
If I could only make you smile or laugh,
I would be happier by more than half,
but can a flower from a cactus bloom?
Yes, and beautifully, too, I presume.
What a long hot year here,
the cactus are wilting.
Cement is getting soft,
birds in the trees are cooked.
Long hot days with hot nights,
must stop for everyone.
Let It Rain-cool rain now.
Did you hear?
What was that?
The wild wind?
Here I stand,
with flowers,
all colors.
A rose talks,
lilies sing,
cactus cry.
Sturdy Will
On rocky grounds, a cactus sprouts
In midst of torrid sun and drought,
Shielded by thorns, it lifts its head,
With its blooms, it graces the land:
With sturdy will and silent strength,
In life, man can surmount hurdles.
My soul’s a shell with wind of time
That blows inside forever
The hollow roar of waves it hides
Although its calm as ever
My mind’s a desolated street
To fields of green and meadows
It leads but not a face I meet
Beneath the tangled shadows
Gone is the 16 Marroway
Gone is the Jansel Square
The garden where Pippa played
Has vanished in the air
My heart’s a cactus on your sill
Under the heating sun
It hopes for water you could spill
Although it knows you can’t
You disappeared in the space
But you remain in time
I know for sure there’ll be a place
For us, and some fine wine.
Tall
and
still as
the sun burns
high above, the
dry earth cracks
with thirst. A lone
cactus stands,
its arms raised
to the sky, seeking
the rain that
never comes.
Shadows stretch
long across the
sand, the wind
whispers soft
secrets,
and time stands
still in the heat
of the day.
Cactus Lies
You're so far away.
Always been complicated.
Where the sun crosses.
A relationship like a cactus.
You're always vigorous.
Beyond sophisticated.
AmI not enough?
Fauls purpose.
Lies carry in the wind.
Feel abandoned, just move on.
The silent treatment.
Clinging on to the past.
A stranger walks on by.
You left me behind.
Neon lights flashing.
Walk alone at night.
Just thinking.
Was it me?
Did I do something wrong?
I guess we are done
A lean coyote chases a hare through
heat of desert winds. His swift doe
darts past my boots. They've managed
to escape, this time. He'll lead the chase
away another day.
I pause to watch the side-winder as he
considers a kangaroo rat, before moving
on between two century plants to a
rock ledge nearby. The tidy yellow rat
continues eating seeds, gleaning moisture,
never needing to sip drink in this dry
yet vibrant land.
The cactus wren with spotted breast
sits atop a prickly pear. The gilded
flickers' rosy cheeks and banded wings
are a colorful reminder of the beauty
I find out here. Their sturdy tails prop
them upright against a great saguaro,
carving out a hole for nest.
I crunch the tangy bulb of a white
desert lily whose green tendrils curl
on the ground. And here, as evening
cools walking back to my new home,
a silver moon illuminates my path. I
glory in this wondrous desert scene.
I went outside to pee
Underneath the cactus tree
But now I'm in the Ho Spittle
The cactus fell on me.
Oh the cactus tree the cactus tree
I went out to pee and it fell on me.
The cactus tree the cactus tree
It's such a mystery.
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