Asimov's SF, June 2010 by Dell Magazine Authors

Author:Dell Magazine Authors
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Science Fiction
Publisher: Dell Magazines
Published: 2010-12-15T07:07:41.297000+00:00

* * *

Poetry: OF LYCANTHROPY AND LILACS

by Sandra Lindow

* * * *

* * * *

In March the howling through the lilacs

was nearly unendurable.

I looked outside but couldn't see the source.

Buds swelled and the fur on the pussy willows

near the fence line was warm to the touch.

In April the rangy smell of life

assailed my nostrils. Yellow-eyed

crocuses appeared and old burrs

clawed at my socks as I walked

the fields south of the house.

The deer are avoiding my yard this year;

Perhaps the new fence can wait.

Mid-April when I tilled the beds,

the smell of the earth made my heart race,

and potato sets regarded me with clear-eyed,

knowing looks as I planted them in hills.

“Mind your own business,” I said,

and when the lilac leaves were tiny ears,

I caressed their tips secretly, listening, listening.

Yesterday, when I finished the planting, I saw

how the lilac buds hung heavy, near bursting

on the twigs. In the night I heard scratching

at my window as I tossed and turned,

my mind alive, my joints aching from effort.

It is Mary, the air is heavy with pollen.

The hot animal breath of spring engulfs me.

I am old. The moon is full. Tonight I'll sleep

on the screen porch and wait for what will come.

—Sandra Lindow

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