Magnolia

Daniel Pravda

leaves don't prissy whisper

or twitter. they cluck. they rev

like an old engine in spring.

ever rake them things? like

sweeping hot cookies. like

bad kids at a museum. like

grease burnt to a pan.

the fine china of forest canopy.

add her buttery flowers

and aroma hypnosis,

and you got yourself

one dangerous swamplady.

Daniel Pravda is a teacher, musician and hiker. His work has recently appeared in Aji, American Dissident, Apricity, Cedar Creek Review, Dead Mule, Jazz Cigarette, Hamilton Stone Review, Poetica, and Vine Leaves. He teaches at Tidewater Community College in Chesapeake, VA and also fronts a band called The Dunes (www.thedunes.us).