The Soul of the Rose, by Nancy K. Jentsch

The Soul of the Rose, by John William Waterhouse (UK). 1908.

​The Soul of the Rose
            
Russet hair laced with sable strands
drawn to a knot intricate
as the pink-kissed rose she fingers
 
Heady scent quickens heart
infuses her empty hand
pressed hard against garden wall
 
with longing for touch and its return
dreamed of behind wilted eyelids
This rose knows no thorns, boasts
 
only layers of silken lips
that unfold till blossom is plucked
then pressed between unstained pages
 
in a book thick and musty
like the mist that coaxed
then cloaked his ship at dawn

Nancy K. Jentsch

Nancy K. Jentsch has taught German and Spanish for over 35 years at Northern Kentucky University. She has published scholarly articles, short fiction and poetry in journals such as Journal of Kentucky Studies, Eclectica, Aurorean, and Blinders. Her chapbook, Authorized Visitors, has been published by Cherry Grove Collections, an imprint of WordTech Communications (2017). Seven of her ekphrastic poems appear in the collaborative chapbook Frame and Mount the Sky (2017). Her Facebook writer’s page is https://www.facebook.com/NancyJentschPoet/.