Current :: Russell Streur

Kochifos Women in Tamarisk Shade

Tamarisk trees
They say
Are just as fierce
As Cretan girls.

Just as stubborn too.
And hard to get.
Especially intolerant
Of nearby rivals.
And next to impossible to be rid of
Once their roots are in your earth.

And they drink a lot.
Water at first
Until the local stream runs dry.
Then your wine.

Russell Streur, the story goes, was born in Chicago in 1954. After raising two sons, he was hit in the head by a baseball bat swung by an insistent muse from Crete in 2004. He intends to recover from the blow no time soon. New work is scheduled to appear on May 7 in The Blanket (Ireland) and on Raving Dove in June.

Copyright 1999-2008 Russell Streur.