Madhu Singh
New Delhi, India

Lilies, Made Of Stone

Plucked from its stem, how long can a calla lily bloom? Once its sap is dry, its petals will wilt and be freed into the breeze. Pain, too, stays only a while. Broken from its source, it is exhaled into the universe. But anger is another animal. Buried deep, it shudders under a rabid dog’s skin, and glimmers steely in a hawk’s eye. When most unexpected, it raises its cobra hood and strikes. It is the last to go.

loss of faith
in the spring of life
yet
amid dew and thorns
a rose still burgeons