Camellias

by Beau Boudreaux
Two shrubs planted
at the entrance to my house
in early bloom, mid-December,
a cerise, lit hue, buds heavy
like walnuts kindled begging to crack,
and it’s tropical down here
does no one notice this cycling by
pushing a stroller, these flowers
clip one, and float it in a crystal bowl
eyeballs covered with green lids.
Beau Boudreaux teaches English in Continuing Studies at Tulane University in New Orleans. His first book-length collection Running Red, Running Redder was published in the spring of 2012 by Cherry Grove Collections. He has published his poetry in journals including Antioch Review and Louisiana Literature and in The Southern Poetry Anthology. His poem “Seersuckered” was published in Deep South in April 2012.