Joshua St. Claire

Rubedo

Oh mandarin of alizarin! Come! Oh trillium of minium! Come! Oh avatar of cinnabar! Come!
Oh ordeal of cochineal! Come! Oh broker of ochre! Come! Oh reservoir of realgar! Come! Oh
cornucopia of sinopia! Come!

Follow me! Into the sharp of cinnamomum and myristica. Follow me! With the cirrus of
dinoflagellates! Follow me! Away from the flashfire of Antares and Arcturus! Follow me! Over
the slips of selenium! Follow me! With the pinions of cardinal and ibis! Follow me! Into the
veins of henna! Follow me! Through the oxide cellar door!

There! In the deep! The Tehra thrums to your timbrels! Sing! Cantillate your bloodsongs! Quick!
Before the last plasma flash ashes out! Lift me! I will brandish the mercury blade and a posy of
hellebore. Send me! To scalpel its skin! Veil me! As I enter! Tale me! As I reignite the blossom
of the hyperultimate asterisk!

Joshua St. Claire is an accountant from a small town in Pennsylvania. His poetry has been published or is forthcoming in Notre Dame Review, Tampa Review, Osiris Poetry, Modern Haiku, and ballast. His haiku have received several rewards, including Rattle: Poets Respond.