Orchid - read from the roots up.

I bought this orchid for Beth. Kind of a combo valentine/birthday gift. It came with a poem. This is not that poem, but it came from that poem. For one thing, the original was written right side up. I started with the idea of a reed like visual form and nothing else really, except a light and loose meditation on cycles of bloom, decay, and regeneration. Then I decided to post the poem but when I returned to the text, I got intrigued by the idea of my poem growing up into the white space above it. If you think it's hard to read this way, I can only say that it's not easy getting word processor to help write in this manner either. I doubt I'll ever try this again. What that I'll leave you to it - remember you're at the end of it right here.

K

end

the

comes,

it

early

too

always

dying,

always

coming,

always

late,

too

forever

now,

cracking

and

crowned

head

bowed

empire,

infinite

an

shouldering

moment

little

a

below,

earth

the

husband

but

moon

nor

sun

neither

stem

to

leave

root,

up

things

All

things.

all

pour

Out

out.

coming

the

this,

only

nothing -

for

all

and

absolute,

time

by

tuned

perfectly,

pitched

less,

word

Up,

vanity.

perfect

a

so,

just

fast,

colors

the

cast,

all

dyes

their

air,

the

beetling

barely,

come

they

Out

side.

in

seminated

in

nately

in

fested

in

dirt,

in

terred

in

dark,

by

demented

tendrils,

cased

hard

ert

In

like,

death

life,

Less

earth.

credulous

the

in

enough

deep

just

buried

and

razed

sun

ous

bulb-

a

hands,

callous

by

ground

under

depressed

and

dressed

un

stemmed

un

seamed

un

curtain,

garish

slow

the

length

at

Then,

reason.

any

yond

be-

lovely,

lilting,

laden,

season,

full

in

end,

the

to

run,

long

a

full,

grace

yet

gaudy

budding,

orgasmic

Then,

plasm.

in

rapt

demurely

hues,

harlequin

in

dipped

brush

turned

up

an

stem

comes,

it

early

beginning,

the

Orchid

By Kevin Cahill 2/23/12