Monet's Purple Poppies, by Dan MacIsaac

Purple Poppies, by Claude Monet (France) 1883

Monet’s Purple Poppies
 
Luxurious drowsiness
drowned in an opiate of oils.
 
Lost in ferment--oriental fumes
and ambrosial poisons.
 
Ah, hydra plant of hypnotic tint,
toxic strain of violet, 
 
mauve dirge of paradise
and close disaster. 
 
Spiked fragrance sears,
Circe’s feverous perfume
 
obscures a blind assassin’s 
sharp perse scent.
 
Exotic your lush petals stun,
long before a curved pod,
 
plump with unripe seeds,
might leak delirium.
​
Dan MacIsaac

Dan MacIsaac, a trial lawyer, served for ten years as a director on the Environmental Law Centre board at the University of Victoria. In 2017, Brick Books published his collection of poetry, Cries from the Ark. His poetry, fiction and verse translations have been published in a wide variety of literary magazines, including Stand, The Malahat Review, Arc, and The American Journal of Poetry. His poetry has received awards including the Foley Prize from America Magazine. Dan MacIsaac’s work has been short-listed for the Walrus Poetry Prize and the CBC Short Story Prize. His website, which includes links to his poetry published in online journals, is www.danmacisaac.com.