Today we present a poem by Melissa Dickey from her new book, The Lily Will. Melissa, a graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, is a creative writing instructor at Tulane University and co-editor of Thermos magazine. The Lily Will, published by Rescue Press, is Melissa’s first book. You can purchase the book directly from the Rescue Press website, http://rescue-press.org/main/purchase.

Of the Summer Garden

A bee deconstructs the magnolia blossom.

Anoles appear, triangular heads
and ink-point eyes.

You only need to sit beneath a pine
to feel the forest.

List the problems, then.
Whose power is over you?

Think brown sap dropped on my elbow.

My self less fruit than flower. Less food
than herb. The anole balloons
his dewlap on the flagpole.

Size may not determine
amounts within. The canopy
precludes light.

As when I knew one war
was over and another would come,
afraid to tell anyone.

 

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