Beltane in the Anthropocene
Aubade of the Blessed When Blessings Turn Sour
Oh Goddess of Lace and Covered Buttons
Each morning I am ash, my geranium heart racks with bloom and then—
I am born volcano.
This, a warning. I knife, seam of red petals.
Do not mistake my magma for flower girl,
these glowing rackets of light, whose altar?
I salvage the pieces, turn in circles to unwind a hurricane,
Unwind myself instead. Dizzy; Yes. My back hurts
from bending to pick up t(his) mess.
My dress would have long sleeves and I’d be married to a mountain.
I was to wear a ring, and the name ‘wife.’
Does it wear out?
Burn to glowing coal, to sleeping soot,
to the jewel weed that grows on the skirts of my shimmer,
my marvelous cardinal, my petals, song of ember.
My body; enclose a seed within my mouth.
Oh Goddess of Lace and Covered Buttons
Each morning I am ash, my geranium heart racks with bloom and then—
I am born volcano.
This, a warning. I knife, seam of red petals.
Do not mistake my magma for flower girl,
these glowing rackets of light, whose altar?
I salvage the pieces, turn in circles to unwind a hurricane,
Unwind myself instead. Dizzy; Yes. My back hurts
from bending to pick up t(his) mess.
My dress would have long sleeves and I’d be married to a mountain.
I was to wear a ring, and the name ‘wife.’
Does it wear out?
Burn to glowing coal, to sleeping soot,
to the jewel weed that grows on the skirts of my shimmer,
my marvelous cardinal, my petals, song of ember.
My body; enclose a seed within my mouth.
Genevieve Pfeiffer is a poet, herbalist, and teacher. They are the Assistant Director at Anomaly and hosts its online reading series (join us!), while studying at New York University. Their manuscript was a finalist for the Baltic Chapbook contest, and their work is forthcoming or has been published in About Place, Frost Meadow Review, Quail Bell Magazine, Birdcoat Quarterly, Juked, and others. They oscillate between NYC and the mountains, and you can find them where there are trees.
Art: Yuno Shiota,『アネモネ』 Anemone Poppy, 286 cm × 205 cm, acrylic and oil pastel on paper, 8.8.2021