Joanna Nealon Performs Two Poems

Narcissus Speaks

Why mock me with my namesake flower?
I have no spring.
And long ago
I ceased to love my face,
Unkissed by Sun
Or anyone,
My compelled gaze
Pinning me close
To my ghost twin.

I envy the Wildflower Woman,
Who blesses weeds
And keeps her contented face
Held to the light,
So that each Dawn
Kisses her mouth
With tender grace.



Spring Again

I write a lot of poems in spring.
I want to grow things.
My seed is fire.
But my heart has no deep roots,
So my stems are stunted,
And my blossoms, "nipped in the bud".
I try to transpose these blighted blooms
Into words,
But they don't last,
Don't truly live.
I'm glad there are real flowers outside me,
And that spring is still so beautiful
In many places,
Even inside places.
That way I can get to visit spring
In other hearts
And sit in the gardens
Of other people's poems.