Hydrangeas

Marly Youmans
September 7, 2019

The blade, the cuts, the sighs.
Inner pith grown hotter.
A vase of injured limbs.

Do this to resurrect:
Rinse and gash, repeat.
Hammer till fibers split.

Blossoms’ bee-swarm (hurt-flecked
By memories of heat)
All loveliness and grit…

Life rises from mangle,
From stems slashed at angle.

About Marly Youmans

Marly Youmans is the author of fourteen books of poetry and fiction. Her latest poetry collection is The Book of the Red King, following the narrative of a transforming Fool, a mysterious Red King, and the ethereal Precious Wentletrap (Montreal: Phoenicia Publishing, 2019.) Her latest novel is Charis in the World of Wonders.