Endowed in perpetuity by the Glenna Luschei Fund for Excellence

Fifth Stage

Fifth Stage

By Joanne Allred

In the orchard this morning the spilled
gold of pear and apple, the blood

and umber smears of peach trees, track
the wheel about to crush marigolds

lighting the garden's edge as it has
snuffed all the blooms

of history. Every way I turn
lies a graveyard where blown leaves

swirl like yellow butterflies
free of their cocoons.  

Prairie Schooner, Vol. 77, No. 3 (Fall 2003), p. 148

Biography

Joanne Allred

Joanne Allred is the author of three collections of poetry, most recently The Evolutionary Purpose of Heartbreak (WordTech Communications). For many years she taught in the English Department at California State University Chico. She lives in Butte Creek Canyon with her husband.

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