Lily
Buzzing like high-tensioned bells
Delirium perches her
On a round-up
Of seed collapsed blossoms.
Receptor blockers swarm
Rattling streams
Rip-tiding down gauzy stalks
A squirm of vehemence
In putrefaction-whiff heads.
But this is the AIDS dream –
Oozing unduly from the vase rim.
Supplanting ruddy-yellow leaves
She’s head-stung, wakeful.
Christopher Barnes is a UK writer who you can find each year reading at Proudwords lesbian and gay writing festival. He has written poetry reviews for Poetry Scotland and Jacket Magazine.