New Mexico Thistle & Bee — Image by kenne
Thistles
by Ted Hughes
Against the rubber tongues of cows and the hoeing hands of men
Thistles spike the summer air
And crackle open under a blue-black pressure.
Every one a revengeful burst
Of resurrection, a grasphed fistful
Of splintered weapons and Icelandic frost thrust up
From the underground stain of a decayed Viking.
They are like pale hair and the gutturals of dialects.
Every one manages a plume of blood.
Then they grow grey like men.
Mown down, it is a feud. Their sons appear
Stiff with weapons, fighting back over the same ground.
Related articles
- Busy Bee After The Thistle’s Sweet Food (kenneturner.com)
— psychedelic thistle
On the Catalina’s
highest points
“thistles spike
the summer air “
now captured
in my mind’s eye
this Scottish rose
becomes my muse
as I raise a glass
of whiskey
to the dancing maids
of the highlands
in festive colors
that warm my blood
coloring different parts
of my brain
each overflowing
into the other
altering my state
of awareness
creating a new flow
yet another
basis of reality.
kenne
Share this:
Like this: