Napo 24

 

An interesting prompt today! Write a poem inspired by medieval marginalia. Google it and you'll find some really interesting stuff. Here's mine:

 

Javalina in a Hat

 

 

She wants to know what beauty feels like,

A bee slipping between the petals of flesh,

The brush of a monarch’s flapping wings

On her skin, the warmth of a breathless gaze

 

As someone spots her from across the monte.

Caliche-caked, she sits pretty in the field

Of wild sunflowers, lets the South Texas sun

Brush the bristles on her back. This hide,

 

A husk of who she is, defines her – a tank,

Built for survival when survival is all

This tough landscape can muster.

Beauty’s in the eye of the beholder.

 

What must a she-hog give up in pursuit

Of such perfection? Her tusks for rooting,

The cool mud on her skin on a hot afternoon,

the bristles on her back that sway and dance,

 

stand up at the slightest bit of danger?

The javalina studies her reflection in the mirror,

Preens and smiles. This landscape frames

Her body well. She slips on a fetching hat.