Anita Olivia Koester
Fleur-de-lys: A Sonnet
The emblem of the kings of France, symbol,
tamed iris or spear head. In New Orleans
we filled all the alleys with slurs and limbs,
you were a man of this continent, blood
of Indians and others, eyes like church
windows, but not the ones in Reims where I
went some years later, to heal, after you
gutted me through, tamed iris or spear-head...
The hills roll low, champagne uncorked, flowing,
the new sun hastens the harvest, I drink
to the Chagalls at the back of the great
cathedral in Reims, a sight you'll never
see, even if you still stood next to me,
self-crowned king of all that does not flower.
Bio
Anita Olivia Koester is a poet, writer and artist. Her poetry and photography is published or forthcoming in Third Wednesday, HEArt Online, Hobart, Two Words For, Forth Magazine, After Hours, The Bastille, Belleville Park Pages, Deadline, Right Hand Pointing and elsewhere. Her work is currently shortlisted for the Paris Lit Up Shorts Contest. She looks forward to attending the 2015 Bread Loaf Writer's Conference as a Contributor. When she is not in Paris, she lives in Chicago with her books and her Australian Shepherd.