MARTIAL
Bring me my spring cups,
fill them with thrum, with spring
crocus, hailstorm, foxglove.
Bring me those purple flowers
on tall spikes, drooping
and tubular, no—
bring me the nectar.
Let the cups be contrived
of white petal,
of coma-inducing digitalis medicine.
Put the jewel heist
in my spring cups.
Retching on the clover,
the clover comes
into focus.
from THE JUNE CUCKOLD
Shitty sun my own kind
You hate to touch it
Until you do
Love,
The Insects in the Insect Trees
Catherine Theis is the author of The Fraud of Good Sleep (SUN SUN SUN Press), and her new poems are forthcoming in Action Yes, LIT, Sonora Review, Volt, and New Pony: A Horse Less Anthology (horse less press). She is the recipient of a 2009 Individual Artists Fellowship from the Illinois Arts Council.