Life in itself
Is a bitter root,
Careless of seed,
Heedless of fruit,
Piercing to
The basic stone,
Nourished still
On flesh and bone.
Do you hunger?
Take it, eat;
To the hungry,
Bitter is sweet.
The Bitter Root
The Bitter Root
Janet Piper
Prairie Schooner, Vol. 6, No. 1 (Winter 1932), p. 27
Janet Piper (1902-1997) was a native of Nebraska, though the bulk of her career was spent as a professor at Sam Houston State University in Texas. Her poetry collection, Behind this Mortal Bone (Maecenas P) was published in 1990.
