the wild flower
of my native land
grows in parch desert
plains and is
watered by salty
vapor and the tears
of men who,
like me,
love unwisely
well
its leaves are purple-
lavender-lilac,
the color of
a blush, or
the first stint
of longing in an
unfailing youth
in its center,
it bears a cross
of yellow and
amethyst
the first to stand
for faith
for timidity
and the harsh bloom
of unveiling light
the second, for spilt blood;
for death
and when he touches me
his hand the soft stroke of a petal
I understand how such rare blooms
can flourish
in the driest of conditions
######
Michael G. Cornelius is the author/editor of fourteen books and has published poetry and short fiction in numerous anthologies, magazines, and journals. He teaches in the English Department at Wilson College.