<%@ Language=VBScript %> Drought - Mused - the BellaOnline Literary Review Magazine
MUSED
BellaOnline Literary Review
Lady Butterfly by Joann Vitali

Poetry


Drought

Sue Russell

in this land
brick retaining walls swell with moss
ivy enfold tree trunks in a moist embrace
a palate of lavender and jade
transforms to raucous yellow, rust, and red
and finally to hydrocephalic sunflowers

but this year
a torrid wind dries the earth to cracked stone
the thistle leaf scrapes the landscape with a gasp of green
her mummified ochre bloom
hangs its dead head from a brittle stalk
yet an optimistic oak sinks roots into dust
searching for the precious cool