and a rose
and apples by the oranges
and apples piled beside potatoes
and a flower shop inside
a grocery store
and a single rose O one blushing rose for
Adam
and I pick out
apples
and I bag
apples
and fevered blood floods my cheeks
as I scan
a single rose O one blood rose
at the checkout
and apples came trucked
and shipped
all the way from
an orchard in
an imagined
Annapolis Valley
and when
Adam
accepts his rose his earlobes must blush must
absolutely blush
as the lobes of blushing petals O
allow his rose to live in
a single vase
as a boat kept in
a bottle for
as long
as we share pared
apples
Joe Bishop’s collection of poetry, Indie Rock (University of Alberta Press, 2023), was shortlisted for an Atlantic Book Award (The JM Abraham Poetry Prize). He lives with his partner, Jim, in St. John’s, Newfoundland & Labrador.
