flower moon

Özge Lena

The moon blooms full in the onyx
sky of May. It is the most difficult

time of the year for me. May is hard
with its brutal nights. With regret

rains. Though its moon is called
a flower, it never blossoms out

for me. Never does it bring me
joy. I keep seeing an empty

highway lined by fingered mauve
trees. I keep thinking of the flowing

of amber street lights. The road is flying
like a firefly as Nina Simone is singing

It might as well be spring on the radio.
It was three Mays ago. I keep seeing

the eyes of her. The darkest dread
in bright pupils. The miserable look

just before the crash. Her antlers break
into pieces. She collapses like an open

wound on the asphalt. A full moon flowers
on its warm blood. Still and silent. Except

for the crimson voice of Nina crying:
I keep wishing I were somewhere else.

Özge Lena's poems have appeared in The London Magazine, One Art, Orbis, 14 Magazine, Abridged, and elsewhere in various countries, including the UK, USA, Canada, Singapore, Spain, Iceland, Serbia, France, etc. Özge's poetry was nominated both for the Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net, and shortlisted for the Oxford Brookes International Poetry Competition and the Ralph Angel Poetry Prize in 2021, then for The Plough Poetry Prize in 2023, and for the Black Cat Poetry Press Nature Prize in 2024. Her poem “Here is a New Heart For You” was featured in the storefront of the Barnes & Noble bookstore in Dublin, California for the National Poetry Month 2024.