Royal Stems

by Cartiér Gwin

Passiflora incarnata
like a radiating clock of three days.
Purple, pink, blue
like the beaten flesh of a slave
or the petals and sepals
who crowded the everlasting maypop
gathered at his left and right hands.
Exchange: serrated edges
for a righteous reward.
Jellyfish, kiwi, crown of thorns.
Circular, botanical heart of a lord.
Promising lines of a hidden
Golden Ratio, undefined.
Is it too much to think
that no admiration for morels
existed on his part?
Instead, his retina bolting
to the ground just to see
incarnata bare, bold,
perfection on earth?
Like a genus that reflects
how low light may lurk.

Published on April 18, 2011