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The Jeweled
Chant
of meadowlarks,
mockingbirds,
and blue jays lures
the sun from
its ebony cave, and
at daybreak,
as that fiery
phoenix rises from
the ashes of night
to lift its
lemon eyelid,
spackling the sky
with light, Poppy
often appears,
crouched in
crabgrass or clinging
to the low branches
of a tree.
Her tongue craves
the ivory peaks
of yogurt almost as
much as her
mother, who taps
Poppy’s head
whenever the kitten
attempts to
lap the milky treasure
from both
bowls. Each stray
has gained
weight after two
weeks of regular
meals, and their
coats gleam like
the gloss of new
leaves. In the
evening Poppy rolls
in the grass
beside her father,
while he finishes
dinner, her plump
belly thrashing
back and forth. Has
a kitten ever
adored her parents
as much as
this one? Watching
Poppy, I pray
for her joyous
spirit, that it will
always soar like the
skylark, the
sapphire lake of her
life unclouded
with gray, her days
frisky with
grasshoppers and
butterflies, her
nights a purring
soliloquy of peace.
Previously published in Juice Magazine,
an online literary journal in Excelsior, MN.
Laura Stamps is an award-winning poet and novelist.
Over five hundred of her poems, short stories, and poetry book reviews have appeared
in literary journals, magazines, anthologies, and broadsides, including the Louisiana
Review, Ibbetson Update, Big City Lit, Poesy Magazine, American Writing, Fullosia Press,
and Lummox Journal. She is the author of more than twenty-five books of poetry and prose.
Her poetry chapbook "Cat Daze" was a Finalist in the 2004 Plan B Press Chapbook Competition,
and her fiction chapbook "White Porches" was a Semi-Finalist in the 2004 Winnow Press Chapbook
Award in Fiction Competition. Her chapbook "In the Garden" was a Top-Finalist in the 2004 Blue
Light Press Poetry Prize and Chapbook Competition, and was recently published by The Moon.
Two of her poems are included in the celebrity anthology "Open My Eyes, Open My Soul" (2003, McGraw-Hill Books). More information about books by Laura Stamps can be found at www.kittyfeatherpress.blogspot.com.
Email: Laura Stamps
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