Ode to the soul ground of scuppernong,
muscadine, sweet elixir, wine-ripe on the vine,
on the gnarled trunk, magnolias’ petals weep
white, opening upon the cheeky pink core,
kudzu lapping trellises velvet green, a land
of heart and heat, no coolness, no shade
to hide it’s bleeding hearts. This region
proud as palm, it’s leavings are fluid, long
as languid evenings, mint juleps on verandas,
porticos burgeoning with bougainvillea,
Spanish moss, cypress boughs dripping
the cicada’s song, lacy shawl of sound
draping lovers leaning upon a scented sigh,
conspiring, recognizing the orchids’ pretty faces,
sweetmeats. Slow musk of night-blooming
jasmine soothing the silver stars above,
an ether canopy, clinging to the shivering
cottonwood copse the moon caresses.

§ § §

Melanie Faith lives in rural Pennsylvania, where she works as an English, American History, and French tutor at the Mercersburg Academy. She graduated Magna Cum Laude in 1999 from Wilson College. Her writing has appeared in print and online in more than twenty literary journals, including The Pedestal Magazine, 3rd Muse, Promise, Thought Magazine, Verse Libre, Coelacanth Magazine, Flashquake, Adagio Verse Quarterly, Blue Fifth Review, and forthcoming from Whalelane and Carillon. Her first poetry chapbook, Restless: Relative Poems, was published in 2003 by Foothills Publishing.

These pieces were first published in INK POT #3 - 2004, a literary journal.

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