Life among the Prickly Pear
Rain’s twofold curse: not enough,
too much. Still, I take comfort
even among the thorns.
There is much to like here.
Its moonlight flowers.
Paddles fried with minced garlic.
Wren’s jubilant shriek.
The fruit’s red nectar.
After a long day I saw it rise
and walk two steps to the west,
uphill, our burdens shared
yet apart. I woke to distant
screech owls purring their desires
on separate slopes. Late spring,
storms on the way, a warning.
I close my eyes and the creek rises.
O at the Edges 
Wonderful imagery and diction in this poem. The ending contains such magic and suspense. Enjoyed this immensely!
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Thank you, Kate. It needs some work, but I’m pleased with the first iteration. Your liking it means it shows promise. 🙂
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So kind of you. Looking forward to the final release.
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Nice!
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Thank you.
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The imagery is simply magical! ♡
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Thank you, Alexia. The images are all from/of our rural property, where I spent the past few days doing battle with chiggers, tall grass and scorpions. Ah, rural life.
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Wow! I was referring to both the photographs and imagery as a literary device… It’s all beautiful
“moonlight flowers”, “red nectar”, magical! 🙂
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Battle with scorpions! O.ô
You are surely very brave!
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The photos are from morguefile.com, but prickly pear is ubiquitous on our property, and the flood scene reminds me of one of the three crossings we must traverse to reach it.
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Well, I’m much larger than the scorpions, so there’s no courage involved. 🙂 To tell the truth, I’ve been known to set them free on occasion. But if they sting, they’ve sealed their fate.
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Prickly pears and washes that flood…brings back memories 🙂
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Mostly good memories, I trust.
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Definitely…good memories of Don and Arizona 🙂
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Comfort among the thorns… Indeed! My beautiful SW is a dangerously beautiful juxtaposition.
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I prefer the prickly pear to the agave and sotol that grow on our property. At least you know where you stand (so to speak) with the prickly pear.
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The prickly pear are just coming into bloom here in the Ozarks so your poem is well timed for me! I was surprised to find these alluring, prickly beauties here when I moved from Arizona more than a decade ago, but so glad to have them on my daily walking route and also grateful for your lovely words.
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I would not have expected prickly pear in the Ozarks, but they are rather hardy. And thank you for your kind words.
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In reply to Jan Schaper — Yep, right you are! The prickly pear cactus (opuntia humifusa) and its fruit are found in the Ozarks of Arkansas and Missouri. But we never saw any when we were in Yellville, AR for a few years. Maybe we should go back and take a closer look! *g*
Ron
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I did not expect them either, but there is a surprising collection of desert-type life here: road runners and armadillos being the most prevalent.
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Bob, when I was a boy, I spent a summer with an aunt and uncle in the panhandle of Texas. There I spent most of my time making a red-ant killer. The main ingredient was mashed-up prickly pear cactus. It worked gr888!
The second ingredient was gasoline. *grin*
Ron
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You really do bring the fire, don’t you!
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*hehe*
You ant kiddin’!
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Sometimes you bug me, Ron. 🙂
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Beautiful!
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You are very kind. Thank you.
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You are most welcome. I love your poetry. 🙂
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I wish I could witness a prickly pear in my area just to experience the beauty you’ve displayed in your ever-talented writing. So poetic- it’s hard not to read more than once 🙂
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Come to Texas. We have plenty of prickly pear to share! And thank you for your kind comments.
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Just “sometimes”? i’ll try harder! (Yes, I got the pun on “bug” but was trying to ignore it. *g*)
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Beautiful, thanks for sharing : )
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Thank you for reading!
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