Crowstep
poetry journal
Elizabeth of the Raspberry Orchids
Elizabeth of the raspberry orchids
who is the old soul who lives in your shadow
as you paint your delicate flowers on squares of silk
holding them up to the window
the sun shines through pink petals and green leaves
tattooing your face and neck
surely it is you there
always new
with hair black and liquid as Chinese ink
fingers like the branches of a jade tree
and laughter that pours softly
as if from an earthen tea pot
who is the ancient ancestor, asleep in the bamboo grove
that wakes and looks out from your water-moon eyes
and tints your smile with wisdom?
Victoria Twomey is a poet and an artist. Her poems have been published in several anthologies, in newspapers and online including Sanctuary Magazine, BigCityLit, PoetryBay, Autumn Sky Poetry Daily, The Tipton Poetry Journal, Verse-Virtual, the Agape Review, and the Trouvaille Review. Her poem "Pieta" was nominated for a Pushcart Prize.