In Full Bloom by Sandy Sue Benitez

He told me
I was a calla in full bloom
trapped inside a paper vase.

I wasn't sure what to say
so I smiled politely
and walked away. Towards the lilacs.

They offered me water
for parched eyes.

I was home now
but the walls needed to be scrubbed.
The rudeness of time
had changed them from purple
to grey.

And he was a thorn I would pull
when the pain was gone
leaving me numb
from the heart down.


Sandy Hiss, Wyoming, USA

Three haiku on Trees by Sandy Sue Benitez

Maple shakes her curls
covering the naked earth
with shawls of copper


Crabapples fall hard
crashing into frosted soil
red comets on fire


Kites float in gold skies
paper leaves tied with ribbon
tree roots envious


Sandy Hiss, Wyoming, USA


These haiku are now featured on November's Festival of the Trees.

The Dragon by Sandy Sue Benitez

When you first told me about
the dragon tattoo, I didn't
believe you were preppy 101,
clean cut in your wool sweater
and Dockers. I wasn't sure
I wanted to see your legs,
lean and pale; a runner's body
fed from lentil soup and fishcrackers.

The dragon was a distraction for
the horror that lay underneath.
Creeping and winding itself
through layers of arrogance that
you breathed from your nostrils.
Setting fire to gentle hands
whose only intent was to touch
your heart.

I always thought dragons wore
beauty in unconventionality.
Loners, drifting in solitude, their
wings unclipped. But when I tasted
your fire, it burned my tongue.
So I spit you out, let you disappear
behind pages of myth.


Sandy Hiss, Wyoming, USA