Garden Haiku

by Madeline Izzo

#1

Cabbage leaves cup the

tender, tightly wadded heads

of babes in their palms.

#2

Green daylily pods

split apart into sections.

Shiny black eyes smile.

#3

Coneflowers' rude tongues,

cushions stuck with barbs, prickle

and wag while I'm gone.

#4

Columbines' spiked heads

breathe fire and spread subtle lies:

dragons in disguise.

#5

Mashed under young feet

and bicycle tires, violets

along the path rebound.

-- MI
© Madeline Izzo

Madeline Izzo has published short stories and nonfiction pieces in regional magazines and newspapers in the Cincinnati, Ohio area. She is currently developing Niches, a collection of poems about her experience in the southeast Ohio woods, and Searching for Kali, a compilation of creative nonfiction pieces about how women's art affects their lives and how their lives affect their art.