Post-weekend Poetry 115: The Vase’s Last Rose by Salvatore Buttaci

Sal Reads Poems.5Welcome to Post-weekend Poetry and the one hundred and fifteenth poem in this series. This week sees the return of poet and short story author Salvatore Buttaci.

The Vase’s Last Rose

Let’s face it, red flower:
summer is not a magic crayon
with which I can slash away
winter, bleed back into her
the colors you so gracefully flaunt.
If I could, I would grasp summer
like a sword, do battle
with the enemies of green,
proclaim winter, even autumn
and spring, in seasonal disfavor.
Through the opacity of the vase,
I see you, Valentine’s last rose,
drooped and petal-worn
atop a soft-thorned stem.
If I could, I would wish into my hands
the power to resuscitate the dying,
and you would live in your garden,
not crushed in the pages of a book
but tall and thriving forever.

*

I asked Salvatore what prompted this piece and he said…

There is something sad about a dying last rose. It signals the closing of spring and summer.

I’d not really thought of that before, but you’re right. Thank you, Salvatore.

**

SalvatoreSalvatore Buttaci is an obsessive-compulsive writer whose work has appeared widely in publications that include New York Times, U. S. A. Today, The Writer, Writer’s Digest, Cats Magazine, The National Enquirer, Christian Science Monitor, A Word with You Press, and Six Sentences. He was the recipient of the $500 Cyber-wit Poetry Award in 2007. He was also one of the winners in the 2011 Franklin-Christoph Fine Writing Instrument Poetry Contest.

A former English professor at a local community college and middle-school teacher in New Jersey, he retired in 2007 to commit himself to full-time writing. In addition to fiction and poetry, he has written full-length plays for educational theaters and maintains several blog sites on the Internet. An activist against Italian American media bias, he has lectured widely on “Growing up Sicilian”.

His two flash-fiction collections 200 Shorts and Flashing My Shorts were published by All Things That Matter Press and are available in book and Kindle editions.

His new book If Roosters Don’t Crow, It Is Still Morning: Haiku and Other Poems.

He has two short e-books at Amazon.com for only 99 cents (c.77p) each:

Salvatore lives in West Virginia with Sharon, the love of his life.

***

If you’d like to submit your poem (60 lines max) for consideration for Post-weekend Poetry take a look here or a poem for critique on the Online Poetry Writing Group (link below).

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5 thoughts on “Post-weekend Poetry 115: The Vase’s Last Rose by Salvatore Buttaci”

  1. mimerajver says:
    Reply

    Morgen, thank you for bringing back Sal. I’m a big fan of both of you!
    Sal, I never cease to wonder at your talent. This poem could be read in so many other ways as well.

    Like

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