Poppy, by Alexina Dalgetty

Poppy, by Georgia O'Keeffe (USA) 1927

​Poppy

They arrive,
one at a wondering time,
in skins borrowed and bought, in
dresses & suits & short shorts, with
hats & phones & large
bags kindly left at the desk.

Her poppy heartbeat rustles into
silence, stills her well
oiled leaves and 
searches out a human
face for freedom.

She, She, She, with the 
shortest skirt and longest legs and flawless face 
clicks a poppy as the ‘no photos’ security 
reaches for the phone. Too late, too
close.  A touch & now
She, She, She is the 
most startled poppy painting 
in a frame. 
Lifeless on a wall.

Poppy — short skirt, long legs, 
flawless face — deletes the image
for ‘no photos’ security and 
pockets the device. 

Not a pocket.
Not a pocket. 
Cogs shift. 
There’s a slit in her side &
the phone slides in. 
All motherboards, no 
blood. 

Alexina Dalgetty

Alexina Dalgetty lives and writes in Camrose, Alberta. Her debut novel, The Cleaning Woman's Daughter, (2023) was published by Liquorice Fish Books, an imprint of Cinnamon Press. She worked with Theatre of the Oppressed techniques for many years, facilitating theatre presentations by youth.