In recognition of Poetry Month, and to celebrate and highlight our treasure trove of Orcas Island poets, Orcas Issues is pleased and honored to again offer daily poetry during April.

Epiphyllum Anguliger in Bloom

— Sadie Bailey —

You’re not a ballerina –
perhaps a fairy;
More likely an angel.
You smell of incense,
jasmine, frangipani, wisp of citrus.
You beckon mystery and magic;
hint of apricots in your golden skirts –
and farther fruits; spices that nomadic tribes
brought on camels’ backs
across vast deserts between tropic seas.
You bloom in night-time; sepals swirl,
spin songs eternally known;
no words, only a keening
longing sung
through miracle of scent,
breath, petal, flower.