Contributor: Theresa A. Cancro

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A single winter rose defies
January's blustery garden.
Her lengthened stamens glory
in deep sun's cast-off rays.

Lush branches, pregnant blooms
tangle, untangle as they slice
a mephisto waltz across
remnant snow mounds,

bleak skies. She must have traded
the grim reaper piles of chintz
petals for the five leathery spikes
that last for days, never seem to fall.

Now she fools the eye, with pink-
tinged giddiness, making us
ponder last spring's awakening
through dust motes and ice sheets.

Her evergreen arms blunt
the teeth of short days, long nights.
We're mesmerized by lightness,
avoid the demon's grip.


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Theresa A. Cancro (Wilmington, Delaware) writes poetry and fiction. Many of her poems have appeared in online and print publications and anthologies internationally. She also enjoys music, dance and gardening, as time permits.