DaybreakPppp and even at the startPp —from itself,

it flees:Pp a flowering hibiscus,

beet-pink and heady with self-announcement.

Look there.

PpppppEvery blood-orange center born

Pppppppppppppppppppppp of a bowstring. The petals taut

Ppppppand meticulousPpppi in their pulling

back . . . The whole of it desirous of the mouthfeel

of rain. The whole of what was wanting to be said:

disregarded. Might the leaves,

edged with

Ppppp teeth, teach relaxation, teach the way out

Pppppppppp of such imprecise attention?

How the emeraldness gathers and spreads —

Pppppcrawls through atmosphere,

delivers afternoon and with it,

Pppppa flower akin to coral in a deep sea.

Pppppppppp Sun and water slackening in the fullness.

Though by evening, look again:

an underside

Ppppp the color of flesh. The powdery wings of a thousand

Pppppmoths

Ppppp falling

Ppppp asleep at the stalk. The flower shriveling so as

Pppppppppppto feel for itself,

Ppppppppppppppppp conscious, in the last breath,

Pppppppppppppppppof something missed.

As if to say,

Ppppppthere is the muddied earth,

Ppppppthere is the dead

Pppppprain,

but what of my body

will I remember?







Author Details Susan L. Leary Contributor Susan L. Leary’s poetry has been published in many print and online journals, including The Christian Century, Crack the Spine, After the Pause, Not One of Us, and Gyroscope Review, among others. Her poem ‘In Utero’ was recently nominated for a Pushcart Prize. She teaches at the University of Miami.