Near the cemetery fence the scarlet bloom stands alone,

Leafless. This scarlet bloom stands alone

And loneliness is the object.

The object is struggling for

A lover who doesn't show.

One lover shows only when the other

Doesn't:

Only the petals

Or these leaves,

Never both.

When the leaves flourish,

The petals have wilted;

When the flower waxes,

The leaves have fallen.

Not being together, they grow

Restless. Being restless is desire itself

And worth possessing, if only for ourselves

As we wait for the other near the cemetery fence.

About the Poet

Frederick Speers is the founding editor of Jam Tarts Magazine and the recipient of the first annual Fitzpatrick/Thoreau Fellowship from the Vermont Studio Center. His poetry has appeared or is forthcoming in AGNI Online; The Straddler; Forklift, Ohio: A Journal of Poetry, Cooking & Light Industrial Safety; and Salamander Magazine. Fred lives with his husband in the San Francisco Bay Area, where he works in digital marketing for a global telecommunications company.

The Ofi Press Magazine

International Poetry and Literature from Mexico City

Near the cemetery fence the scarlet bloom stands alone,

About the Poet