Petal Peril

Whatever you do, don’t fall asleep on a Sonoran Desert summer, or an underdog, or dark horses, or mama bears.  Such pretty things—have teeth.  They can bite; they can burn.  They last while the world tumbles and turns.  Grow fierce in threat of storm.  Stand tall when assumed to fall.  Underestimate them at your peril.  Pretty petals may be fragile—roots are not.

 

desert willow petals

blowing sideways

straight against the fall

 

 

© 2025 Jennifer Wagner

 

dVerse Poetics: “Whatever you do, don’t fall asleep…”

 

Heavy Laden as I Was

 

Pregnant with my third baby,

I climbed over the black stones

to get to the beach

near Westport to go clamming—

rake in one hand,

pail in the other.

 

It was easier than I

thought it would be, heavy laden

as I was, and the chowder made

was even better

than I thought it would be—

 

smoke and ocean air a salty brine

for my wombfed son,

the thumpbeat of my heart

and the quick-tick of his in melody—

this poem

 

resting easy

between us

where all the rocky future had been.

 

 

© 2025 Jennifer Wagner

 

Emma

Clint & Emma Photo by Sydney Keller Photo

 

 

She is a beautiful fragrance

born on the cusp of summer

 

like a flower pressed

to release the heart of a bloom.

 

She holds the charm

of sunlight in her golden-brown hair

 

and the air sparkles around her

smile, and my son’s, delighted to be her groom.

 

Two flames, soon one,

lit since he danced in my womb,

 

with my hand rested there in prayer

for him—she, the answer born of God’s perfume.

 

 

© 2025 Jennifer Wagner

 

Photo by Sydney Keller Photo 

 

Perfect timing at What’s Going On? as today is my son’s fiancée Emma’s birthday.

Happy birthday, sweet girl!