Milkweed to Monarch (Dana's Song)
by Greg Dyer

I'll be your martyr, tender you my flesh,

defend you with my lancet leaves, conceal

your ovate birth within the orange glow

of flowers sifted from heavenly excess.

I will sustain your larval form and steel

your blood against the predatory blow.

And when your wings unfold, assault the air

with Aztec flame and sable, I will kneel,

offer prayers of drifting cotton to flow

behind you, lingering seeds everywhere