J. E. Yeasting



Sequence, Experiments



The glass shatters when I wash it--

Its sting like the sight
Of those red bees we saw,
Their bodies translucent
But filled with a red liquid--
The nectar of a raspberry patch,
Turned from flying so close?

Now that you're not here,
I see again those red bees.

What would that old alchemist,
Paracelsus, suspect, anticipating lead
Turning into gold? All you need,
He insists, is the proper
Sequence of experiments,
Not walking
Away from half-filled beakers
And steaming alembics.

What about us?


Copyright 1997, J. E. Yeasting


J. E. Yeasting lives in Seattle. She has a M.F.A. from Columbia University and publications
in numerous literary magazines.


Switched-on Gutenberg
Thematic Contents / Vol. 2, No. 2
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