by Sean Lynch

Flos Carmeli, 
vitis florigera, splendor caeli, 
virgo puerpera singularis.

Flower of South Philly
short in stature
yet great in splendor.

Physically withered,
but you will bloom again.
My eyes have opened

only after my nose.
Seeing your seeds unspoiled
in spite of barren air.

Transformed by suffering. 
I can still envision you clearly
even after your passing.

Your blue petals shine 
and reflect onto my eyes
with golden light. 

I long for the day
I will return to your embrace
and meet you again, at springtime’s gates. 

---

Sean Lynch is a writer and editor who lives in Philadelphia. His poems have been published most recently in Hoot Review, Mad Poets Society, and Apiary Magazine. He has worked as an editor for Whirlwind Magazine, Moonstone Press, Serotonin Poetry Journal, and the Nick Virgilio Writers House.