The red wasp queen, unfettered by the wind
avoids autumn maple leaves, their fall,
sun painted sides face up as they float
like unmanned flatboats on the lake
each broken loose from their tether.
A moment to hover, homing into the target,
her stinger sheathed behind a mask,
summer’s lone survivor, a princess
she slips elegantly into an open seam
where the siding hides under the trim.
Enter the shadows to her nest unseen
tight from the chill ripe in the air,
her instincts buzz, let this season pass by
months alone, papered away in the dark
until that day the warm purple sunshine
of her reign is a crown atop the horizon.
Some of R Jay Slais’ most recent and forthcoming publications include poems at Barnwood, Every Day Poets, Flutter Poetry Journal, MiPOesias, Bird’s Eye reView, Sub Lit and tinfoildresses. A single father raising his two children, he makes a living as an engineer/inventor in Metro Detroit Michigan.
Posted on February 23, 2009 in Poems
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6 Responses to “AUTUMN BELLE • by R Jay Slais”
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February 23rd, 2009 at 4:14 am
nice… i like the imagery, especially the first four lines.
February 23rd, 2009 at 6:41 am
Lovely imagery. But is it a queen or a princess? Can’t be both?
February 23rd, 2009 at 7:41 am
What a beautiful poem. Nice imagery, especially the way it captures the passing of just a moment of time.
February 23rd, 2009 at 7:58 am
I don’t know anything about wasps, so I’ll assume it’s accurate. A riveting poem that’s a carving in the round in motion – an observation of instinct and seasons, from purple leaves to shadow to a purple season of hope rounding out the end as a new beginning, forming a discrete and graspable crafted sculpture.
February 23rd, 2009 at 1:51 pm
Liked the interlacing of falling leaves and the wasp–all that purple as symbol of her regalness.
–dj
February 27th, 2009 at 7:40 pm
Robin–
I think the idea suggested here is that the wasp is a princess until she emerges from her winter slumber and claims her crown.