Night Cactus

The unknown flower began
as a bud I thought was dead,
or a scar on the face
of the cactus
until I moved the plant outside
for the summer

where
the unknown flower began
to lengthen and swell its head
into a neck with trace of leaves
on its throat
arching and stretching
like the layrnx of a woman

and
the unknown flower began
to open its lips at the noon
but only sang her aria to the night
to the moths that do not exist here,
sang alone at the night
with no one to really hear.

Copyright 2006 © Paul Decelles

Comment: The cactus is a plant I got this Spring at a plant sale. It has a white night blooming flower that lasts for one night; I suspect the cactus is moth pollinated. What kind of cactus is this?


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