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#7: Marigold

Photo Marcy Albin
To take the sturdy
and pungent spike that rims this
flowerbed border.

Ward off tiny invasions.
Ants and snails, sluggish
ships. Snip away what’s withered
to live instead with
this regal red lion’s head.
Misfire severed from


body ducts now on their own.
Clear and untethered
from the weathered pressing down.

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