Poetry by Maria Venditozzi
The Gift of Tulips
What I admire about tulips
is their optimism.
When freshly cut,
their bodies are taut, tight
as a nubile girl.
Heads pert, faces shyly pretty.
But, after time,
like most of us, they get
a bit soft round the middle.
Loyal leaves wrap round,
close as a sari, to spare
blushes about their sagging stems.
Colour becomes more vibrant,
lush green, cupped petal dazzle.
Despite the droop,
their faces arc.
Upturned beams of maturity
that widen with age.
Dinner date
He comes in from work as she’s cooking
all teenage bluster and hunger,
raiding the fridge. She coaxes the lowdown on his life.
They sit in the kitchen talking.
He disagrees with vegetarian sausages.
He’s learned to make sweet pepper humous today.
Both of them are quiet now, tiring.
Soporific post-meal comfort.
He starts to doze as she strokes his arm.
Cool skin feels familiar, memories
on her fingertips. Gazing at his newly hairy chin,
those lovely lashes on a changing face.
Longing to be holding him again
on her knee, warmed by his sweet breath
when she stroked his cheek to sleep.
Policies for squirrels
A squirrel scampers
along a mossy branch.
Is there a policy for running
on moss that’s wet?
Should scampering
even be allowed in such conditions?
This squirrel can’t know
that such a policy exists.
It’s just running happily
head high, nose twitching the March air.
Not placing one paw
carefully in front of the other
cautious of criticism,
fearful of safety.
Head low, ponderously
reviewing every step of the procedure.
Maria launched her first collection Tendrils of Intention was launched in July, 2015
This section: Books, Talks, Poetry and Creative Writing Events, Poetry
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