Diane Funston
Browsing rows of cactus for sale
I wondered which could winter over
An informed choice of cholla and agave
I admired both cruel spikes and a century’s patience
Counting out a single dollar
and five little columns of quarters, I paid
for new additions to the garden
I will watch grow, or return to one day
Passing displays of gift items, jewelry,
unnecessary trinkets that sparkle
in an Aladdin’s cave of pricey treasure
I carry stoic cactus to car
I drive home tilting at wind turbines
on roads I once drove for a barely living wage
My skirt proudly purchased at a Paris market
unexpectedly pierced by cruelty and patience
quietly catches in the door
halfway in, halfway out
Diane Funston has been published in journals including California Quarterly, Lake Affect, F(r)iction, Tule Review, Still Points Quarterly, among others. Diane served two years as Poet-in-Residence for Yuba-Sutter Arts and Culture. Her chapbook, Over the Falls was published by Foothills Publishing in 2022.