A Poem By Ange Mlinko

by Mark Bibbins, Editor

Lilies

“You can’t eat near me,” conceded the lilies.

“I turn even the wine in your mouth.

“The babouche of my anthers would paprika your tofu.

“I’m chrysanthemums’ antithesis.

“I am not the darling of Autumn.

“But hexa-petalled, I am the bad javelin of the future

come to you all unraveling.”

Ange Mlinko is the author of Shoulder Season (Coffee House Press). She lives and teaches in Houston.

Got a hankering for more poetry but not quite sure how to sate that urge? Head over here, to The Poetry Section’s vast archive. You may contact the editor at [email protected].