conundrum
Betsy Johnson-Miller
a clutch of jonquils
in my back pocket
will not bring the elusive
tranquil life to bloom
in any large or small
room I enter because
inevitably I will be invited
to sit, relax
therefore crushing the beautiful
because it’s a command
I’d give anything
to obey
Betsy Johnson-Miller’s work has appeared in Alaska Quarterly Review, Prairie Schooner, Boulevard, AGNI (online), North American Review, and Poet Lore.